


Let's Go Home

by Nothing_Fancy



Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic X, Sonic the Hedgehog (Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Touching, Romance, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23952310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_Fancy/pseuds/Nothing_Fancy
Summary: Amy is now 20, and has always loved Sonic the Hedgehog. She didn't plan on ever loving anyone else, but after a near death experience and a broken arm, she finds herself getting closer to her new roommate. To make matters complicated, a darkness threatens to take away her new found happiness. Can Amy figure out just who she wants to be with and how to defeat the impending doom, before it's too late? Takes place after Sonic X and treats Sonic Boom as the future of X.
Relationships: Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog, Cream the Rabbit & Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna & Rouge the Bat, Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat, Sonic the Hedgehog/Perci (Sonic Boom)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 54





	1. Prolog: Pondering Death

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Ao3 Readers!
> 
> Thank you for taking a look at this fiction! I look forward to hearing what you think!

_ When does it happen? When do the things you thought mattered, become insignificant?  _

A female hedgehog rose shakily to her feet, using her huge yellow and pink hammer as support. She coughed, bringing her white gloved hand to her mouth. When she pulled it away, she was fascinated to see red. She chuckled,  the possibility of internal bleeding was strangely humorous.

_ When you chase something long enough, you start to leave behind pieces of yourself. You become a shell of what you used to be. _

Wiping her mouth, she smiled, her teeth stained pink with her own blood. Spitting the rest of the metallic liquid out of her mouth, she raised her hammer. No one was going to beat her down. She had a purpose, and anyone who knew her would say; where Amy Rose lacked in common sense, she made up for in pure determination.

_ If you're always left behind, if no one ever looks for you, that's when you stop looking for yourself. And if no one's searching, then  _ _ how can you be found? _

Smashing her hammer into the snake's tail, the rose colored hedgehog screamed in pain and victory as she felt the thing wither in  agony . But before she could react she was smacked in the stomach, and thrown into the wall of the ruins. She tried to move, but her right arm wouldn't listen. She looked over and saw a white jagged bone ripping through her skin, her peach furred arm slowly being stained with a gushing stream of hot blood. She laughed again, this was it. This is how she died… she was actually surprised she still had that much blood left in her body. Her enemy, Lyric, slithered over to her, and she closed her eyes.

_ Wasn’t there anyone who would turn back? Wasn't there anyone who would stop and take her hand? _

Amy sat in a warm puddle of her own blood, waiting for the final pain that would release her into blissful peace. Her life started playing before her eyes. Blue. That was all she saw, blue quills, emerald eyes, cocky smile, and brown scarf. Was that really all she had amounted to? A love sick girl who ran after her hero? No, she had started her own life, she had become an archeologist. She had started making a name for herself, apart from the blue blur. She never regretted her love for Sonic, she still loved him, but it was that chasing, the endless game of tag where she was always 'it.' She had lost sight of herself, she had become something disgusting. She had tried fixing it, but look where it had gotten her.  _ I’m going to die without ever truly telling him how I felt. I am going to die without ever being who I was meant to be. _ Her jade eyes opened, her vision blurry from smoke and tears. They were met with cruel yellow eyes that shone with insanity and evil. 

_ Don't stop, don't ever stop. Or you'll realize that there's nothing left. Nothing to turn back to. The pink hedgehog, cursed to always chase a blue hero, until there was nothing left. _

_ Nothing left. _


	2. Foul Language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers!
> 
> I will try to have steady rate of posting. I look forward to hearing from all of you!
> 
> Happy Reading!

_**CHAPTER 2: Foul Language** _

Jade colored eyes snapped open to see a red-brown cave ceiling.  
  
"Ugh..." She moaned, her head felt like a rock. Her right arm blazed in protest of movement, and her lower back creaked as she moved up into a sitting position.  
  
"Where am I?" She mumbled. Her vision was blurry for a couple moments, and she had to blink several times to bring her body into focus. She was receiving strong pain indicators from several places, and as she scanned herself, she noticed that most of her injuries had been tended to. Bandages covered her arms, and her right limb had been placed in a makeshift sling. Her next revelation was that she wasn't wearing her normal adventure outfit, and was instead sporting a quite tattered rag that looked to have been a large t-shirt at the beginning of its life. She had a sudden flash of Stick’s brown loin cloth that she passed as a dress… Amy was not grateful for the similarity.  
  
Now satisfied that she wasn't in grave need of medical attention, her focus turned to her surroundings. She was sitting in a cave, and it was quite dark and wet. She realized with a shock that she hadn't the faintest idea where she was… She could remember walking around the Skye Arc ruins, searching for artifacts, when Lyric had ambushed her. He was stronger than the time when he had come after the crystal shards, and she had been totally unprepared. _Chaos, I'm so stupid. I should've brought Knuckles with me_. She had asked Sonic, but he had, of course, refused. He claimed he had a date, with that nasty bandicoot, _Perci_. And dammit she had been so pissed, that she had just left on her own. Now she was alone, with no idea where she was or how she was going to get home, all because of some childish anger and pride.  
  
"Fuck." She said out loud, her emotions spilling forth like poison. The ability to say such a word without criticism gave her a small feeling of release and helped her anxiety at her situation lessen.  
  
"That's not very lady like, now is it?" 

The husky voice came from somewhere behind her, and she felt her blood freeze in fear before a strangled scream ripped from her throat. Jumping to her feet, she snapped her hammer to existence, turning to face whatever threat laid in wait. Pain shot throughout her body, but she ignored it with the help of adrenaline.  
  
"Whoa, there! Calm down! Is that anyway to treat your savior?" 

All she could see at first was the relief of a male hedgehog against a small fire, but with a squint she was able to identify him. Immediately, she relaxed, but she could still feel her heart beating a million miles a minute.  
  
"Shadow. You scared me! What the hell are _you_ doing here?" She asked plopping down again, and putting her hammer back in its other-dimension home. Shadow the Hedgehog smirked folding his arms and giving her a crude look. He was wearing a black leather jacket, and a low cut tank top that showed off his white fluffy chest fur. His jeans were black and ripped and he wore his usual black and red air shoes.  
  
"You really should work on that mouth of yours, no wants to be around a indecent female." 

Amy rolled her eyes. Shadow was the last person she wanted lecturing her on politeness, being someone who also had very colorful speaking habits of his own. She hadn't seen Shadow in a while, and she had to admit it was nice to see him. The last time, about 6 months ago, he’d come over to the village to speak with Sonic, about… who knows what. And Amy could honestly care less, but she did consider the black hedgehog a friend, even if she couldn't stand him.  
  
"I guess, I should thank you for helping me." She said, just the smallest hint of sarcasm in her voice.  
  
He shrugged, and turned to the fire beside him. Amy could smell something being slowly roasted over the heat, and her stomach started to growl. However, more pressing then the idea of a full stomach was a question that kept nagging at her mind.  
  
"Um, just a question, where are we?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous. The black hedgehog looked up, his hand turned, what looked like fish, over so that the other side would begin to brown. Amy could feel her mouth starting to water.  
  
"One of my many hideouts. I couldn't take you far, with you being in that condition and all."  
  
"Oh," Amy replied, swallowing some of the excess saliva , "Um, what about Lyric?"  
  
Shadow shrugged, stood up and walked over to a pile of wood. He took a log and fed it to the fire. The warm orange tendrils jumped up to meet the fuel, and small red sparks of ember burst into the air, landing on his body, but Shadow didn't even flinch. Amy shuddered at the scene, his ability of near invincibility was always a little unnerving to witness.  
  
"I knocked him briefly unconscious so that I could get you away. You were very close to dying, you know. Couldn't spend time kicking the bastard's ass, had to be a quick in and out." His voice had a slight annoyed tone to it, and when he turned to face her once more, his expression was of irritation.

Amy felt her heart sink in humiliation, and self anger. She prided herself as someone who could hold her own in battle, and it had taken years of training to get to that point. To hear that she had become so defeated that someone had to swoop in and save her like a damsel in distress, frustrated her to no end. On top of all that, the ‘hero’ had to be this cold blooded hedgehog before her. Shadow hardly ever got involved in other’s business, especially whenever it had to do with Sonic or his friends. Whenever he was forced to, it would annoy him to no end. It must have been bad enough that he had forced himself to intervene, most likely causing his annoyance to grow to new heights. Amy wasn't clueless, she knew Shadow was irritated with her on a good day. She was embarrassed he’d witnessed her struggle, because she knew it just made his hostility towards her worse.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry. I... I know it was dumb to come to these parts alone..." 

Shadow grumbled in response, and it was enough to cause her already stressed emotions to stretch to their max. Against her wishes, she felt tears begin to burn in the corner of her eyes. _No… crying will just make him even more annoyed. You don’t want him to leave when you have no idea how to get home._ She blinked profusely, attempting to push the tears back.  
  
"Here." 

Along with the word came a fish shoved underneath her nose. The action shocked her for a moment and forced her to look up. Shadow was standing before her, offering the grilled protein to her with a stern look. His expression wasn’t warm, but he wasn’t reflecting any of the annoyance or revulsion that she had feared would be there.  
  
"Thanks..." She hesitated before grabbing it carefully with her left hand. Once the stick had left his grip, Shadow turned and sat a few feet away, but he faced in her direction, observing her silently. 

Amy pulled the fish up to her muzzle and sniffed carefully, as though testing whether it had turned or not. Surprisingly, the scent that hit her nostrils was attractive, and caused her stomach to growl in anticipation. She hadn’t even realized how hungry she was, but now she could feel her stomach tightening in anticipation. Wasting no more time she took a bite, and was pleased at the flavor explosion on her tongue. The meat melted in her mouth like butter, and she could taste a tang of lemon. Her eyes widened in delight, and she turned to the brooding hedgehog with a bright smile.  
  
"This is soooo good, Shadow! How'd you make it?" Once the words were uttered, her mouth again chomped with vigor into her meal.

Shadow blinked, and turned to look at the fire. He felt a little tinge at the compliment, a feeling that could be described as... warmth, but the feeling was not something he was used to. He gritted his teeth to rid himself of the unwanted tenderness, and he clenched his fists.  
  
"Just threw some shit I found around the cave entrance and some things I had in storage together. Nothing fancy." 

Amy narrowed her eyes at his crude language, but shrugged and continued to devour the fish. When she was finished she sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave. The pain from her broken arm had subsided greatly, and with a full stomach she was starting to feel sleepy. A comfortable smile slowly formed on her lips, and she wiggled in contentment. She was starting to get comfortable, or at least as comfortable one could be with a broken arm in a wet cave. Her eyes closed and she started to ponder once again on her surroundings. Shadow lived here? He’d said this was one of his ‘many’ hideouts, but what about his actual home? With a jolt, she realized she didn’t even know where he lived. This wasn’t the surprising part, Shadow was a secretive guy, and she could hardly imagine him giving that information out. No what shocked her was that it was entirely possible that he _didn’t_ have one.  
  
"Shouldn't you be calling your friends?" He asked, his voice coming from another side of the cave. Amy opened her eyes, she hadn't thought of that. Mostly because of the obvious reasons of embarrassment, but also because she had thought she wouldn’t need their help since Shadow was already assisting her. She felt a little knot form in her stomach, just as she had originally thought. She didn’t want to be a burden any longer and there _was_ someone that she could call who wouldn’t make her feel embarrassed.  
  
"Hmm, I guess I should ." She looked around for her purse, but couldn't find it.  
  
"Here." She looked up from the side of the bed she was searching, to see shadow standing beside her with her purse thrust in her face. The large maroon purse was tattered and burned, it’s shape no longer recognizable, and she’d have to throw it out when she returned home.  
  
"Uh, thanks," she said, grabbing it from him. She pulled out a bronze cylinder, it had studs circling it on the top and bottom. She pulled it apart, revealing a digital screen. It was one of her favorite inventions of Tails, and she was glad it seemed to be working fine.  
  
She tapped the screen, and dialed Sticks number. A picture of a badger with crazy blue eyes, and smile to match, and a ringing tone filled the cave. She didn’t answer at first, and Amy glanced up nervously at Shadow. He was standing with his arms crossed and his red eyes narrowed into a speculative glare.

Amy gave a nervous smile, “It’s late… she’s probably asleep…” Shadow said nothing, but he didn’t soften his stare. Thankfully, she saw the screen flicker as the badger answered,  
  
"Ugh, hullo?" The tired voice of Amy's friend echoed through the cave. Amy let out a small sigh of relief and she saw Shadow scoff and shake his head from the corner of her eye. _What a jerk, it’s not like I want to be here anymore then he wants me here._ Despite the spark of anger towards her stubborn savior, she plastered a happy expression on her face for the sake of Sticks.  
  
"Hey, Sticks, it's Amy!"  
  
"Amy? Why are you calling in the middle of the -" suddenly the screen brightened as the badger woke up and turned on the lights of her room. Amy could see the messy face of the brown animal staring at her with crazy blue eyes. Amy groaned inwardly, she already had a guess as to what Sticks was about to say next.  
  
"Is it the robot takeover? Have you been kidnapped by a destroyer bot?" She was now screaming in her scratchy voice and started moving about frantically. This caused the image on the screen to blur and twirl frantically, and Amy could feel a headache coming on from the movement, but she also felt a warmth begin to enter her. In her own insane way, the badger was worried for her, and Amy realized it helped her feel safer.  
  
"No! No Sticks!" Amy said laughing, "I'm just checking in, I had a bit of... well a bit of an accident." Amy heard Shadow scoff again, and she chose to ignore him.  
  
"Wait, so you're not becoming the wife of the ladybug robot king?"  
  
"Wha-? No! I’m fine, I just think I need to go home now is all, I just wanted to let you guys know I was fine, in case you were worried." Amy was blushing, and Shadow was watching her, his eyes filled with dark amusement.  
  
"Oh, well none of us were. But I can have Sonic come pick you up." Sticks started to walk towards the door, but Amy shouted, "No! Um, it's fine, I, uh, had a fight with him. Could you get Tails?"  
  
"What? I would, but he left, shortly after you to go visit Knothole." Amy sighed, perfect, of course he chooses now to visit Cream.  
  
" I’ll take you back ." Amy jumped slightly, not expecting to hear Shadow say anything, let alone something that was… well not nice persay, but decent, from the dark Mobian.  
  
"Who's that?" Sticks asked growling. Thankfully the screen had stopped moving about frantically, but now it was filled with a badger with her hackles raised.  
  
"It's fine, Sticks, it's just Shadow," Amy quickly stated, her good hand waving before the camera like a flapping wing.

Sticks looked puzzled at first, no recognition of the name on her expression. Amy opened her mouth to explain, when suddenly Sticks eyes brightened and she said loudly, "Ooh, that black gloomy guy that looks like Sonic?" Shadow growled and ripped the device out of Amy's hands,  
  
"Hey-!" Amy tried, but the look she received from Shadow was enough to seal her lips.  
  
" I look _nothing_ like that blue faker, badger!" He growled.  
  
"Oh there he is! Hi, Mr. Shadow , _tough-guy_ !" Sticks said laughing.  
  
"I am taking Amy home. We will be there tomorrow." He growled, slamming the cylinder shut.  
  
"Hey!" Amy shouted again. "What the hell?!" Shadow flung the thing into her lap.  
  
"Get some sleep, we're leaving in the morning." He turned and walked over to a chest on the other side, that Amy hadn't noticed before, and pulled out a huge blanket.  
  
"Here." He said tossing it in her direction, he turned and went back to the fire.  
  
Amy sighed and leaned over, the best that she could, to pick up the blanket. She was too tired to complain, and besides anything was better than having Sonic come save her. She shuddered at the thought, and again her mind was full of him.  
  
After moving away from Knothole, Amy had really thought that they might have a chance at something more than friendship . There had even been times that they’d hung out alone, and it even seemed like he wasn’t annoyed with her anymore. Part of it was because they were older, Amy was 20 and Sonic was 22, so both had grown out of their childish ways. Amy no longer pursued him like a crazy fan, and Sonic didn’t run at the first sight of her. Hell, they had seemed to grow closer in the past year, to the point that they enjoyed each other’s company.  
  
Until he had met Perci, that lavender colored siren. She was older, and her body more mature, so she had easily caught the eye of the blue hero. He stopped hanging out with her, would stand her up, and even avoid speaking with her, even at friend gatherings. Amy was convinced that they both weren't in a serious relationship, that it was only for pleasure. But it still hurt, because now she was back to square one, her chasing and him leaving.  
  
Amy sniffed, and a silent tear rolled down her cheek as she finally drifted to sleep.


	3. An Odd Arrangement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the story thus far! It is the first one I have written and published, and I enjoy sharing it with you all!
> 
> Thank you for the comment chinarai! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
> 
> This story does move along pretty quickly, but I will explain why later.
> 
> Thanks again and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
> 
> Happy Reading!

**_CHAPTER 3: An Odd Arrangement_ **

Shadow the Hedgehog was, to say the least, annoyed. First off, he had been _forced_ to save the pink hedgehog from certain death, clean her up, cook for her, and now he would have to take her home. Why had he suggested that in the first place? He was a lone wolf and preferred it to stay that way.

A sniffle reached his ears, coming from the mound of black cotton that hid the pink hedgehog from sight, and his eyes rolled. She hadn't changed at all - she was still weak. Shadow never gave weak things the time of day, and that was why he chose solitude over the company of others. No one had ever seemed worthy of his time.

He didn't hate the pink female, but at the same time, he couldn't stand all of her emotions. The only female he was ever close to, after the loss of Maria, was Rouge the Bat, and even _she_ got on his nerves. Rouge was strong and independent, but Amy… She had always been the fangirl who followed his rival, Sonic, around. At least, that's what he'd told himself before today.

Shadow shook his head and tried to calm the urge to get up and leave. How'd he even get into this situation in the first place? He’d been exploring the eastern side of the island, searching for possible signs of a Chaos Emerald, when he’d heard shouting. Curiosity piqued, he had investigated, and seen Amy in battle with Lyric.

He was going to jump in right away, but then something stopped him. She was doing just fine without him, and he watched in fascination. Lyric lunged, but she stood her ground and at the last second jumped into the air and did a graceful flip, landing on top of the snake and dealing a powerful blow to its head. Lyric hissed in pain, withered, and Amy _laughed_ , continuing a ruthless attack.

This had gone on for a bit, and it had truly seemed like the pink hedgehog would win, until Lyric had produced an odd necklace. Amy's eyes had gotten wide, and she’d yelled, "No!"

Shadow couldn't hear the snake's response, but the necklace had started to glow, sending streaks of magic throughout the surrounding area. Many of the plants burst into flames upon contact, and Amy charged the monster, but was struck with a powerful surge of energy, which threw her to the ground. She started coughing up blood, and Shadow moved to intervene, but to his surprise, the little hedgehog got up, laughing hysterically, and lunged again.

Shadow had never seen something so brutally beautiful and had subsequently been frozen in place. He watched as the enraged girl slammed into Lyric and almost sliced him in half with her hammer, but that was when, weakened from the attack, she had been blasted backward and knocked against a wall. He waited a moment to see if she would once rise again to continue the attack, but her body was limp and the snake was getting closer, so he quickly sped down the hill towards them.

Shadow sighed as he continued to look over the sleeping figure of Amy Rose. Ever since he’d first met her, he’d been annoyed with her. She had hugged him, thinking he was another, and then on the ARK, she had touched his heart. She had influenced his choices and thoughts, and he didn’t like how he’d lost control of his emotions towards her. In fact, the ebony hedgehog made it his personal goal to never allow others close enough to have that power over him.

The only person who’d had that kind of hold over him had been Maria, and look where that had gotten him. But when this little pink hedgehog had spoken to him with her heart pouring forth, and her sincerity reaching the closed off parts of his inner emotions, it had terrified him. That little spark of hope that she had kindled within him, had made him vulnerable for a moment, and when he had looked for her again, she was already turning back to her true object of affection, that blue idiot. 

As a result he had once again put up ironclad walls, and avoided the pink girl whenever possible. She was a danger to him, and he was determined to not allow something that could never be his, to peel away his defenses.

Shadow mentally punched himself; he didn't _want_ and he most definitely didn't _need_ her. _This_ was the exact reason he had to get this over with quickly. He frowned as he thought about tomorrow and how he would be stuck with her all day. _Joy._ He kicked sand into the fire, the flames expiring with a resounding hiss, and sat down to wait out another long, sleepless night.

* * *

A few hours after the sun rose, Shadow heard movement and a moan from behind him. He turned begrudgingly and saw the pink hedgehog sitting up with the blanket around her shoulders, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her quills were a mess and the rags he had put her in did little to cover her body. Shadow pushed down a sudden animalistic desire to see more and instead said, "About _time_ you woke up." Amy's head snapped in his direction and a look of annoyance sparked in her eyes.

"I'll have you know that I'm a very early riser most of the time, and would've been today, if I hadn't almost _died_ yesterday." She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, and Shadow rolled his eyes. The childish expression served no purpose but to irritate him.

"Whatever. Here; get dressed." He tossed her dress into her lap. He had tried his best to clean out the blood, but it was still rather stained.

"Um... thanks." She replied, a little smile starting to curl in the corners of her mouth, but suddenly her jade eyes grew huge and all traces of happiness vanished from her face. She looked from her dress to the fairly tattered rags she was in and back again. Then her eyes met his. The green burned with both disbelief and anger, and Shadow felt a chill move through his body. _Oh,_ _shit! She realized I changed her clothes!_ Shadow turned quickly, but was knocked down from behind, by a flying Piko Piko hammer.

" _You DEMON!"_ The pink hedgehog fumed, on her feet, shaking. "Y-you!" She stammered, stalking towards him, her wounds momentarily forgotten. "You- you _PERVERT!"_

 _Oh,_ _shit!_ Shadow thought again. He had seen the girl angry at others before, and she was merciless. Never having experienced it firsthand though, Shadow wasn't keen on having the experience. He got up and held her wrist firmly. Amy may have had superhuman strength, but she was sapped from the day before and couldn't yank her hand away.

"Stop being dramatic!" Shadow growled, his ruby eyes glaring into her green ones.

"It's not like I _wanted_ to see your pathetic body; I had to remove it because _someone_ was covered in her own blood!" Amy stared at him, then looked down, her tiny body starting to shake, and Shadow felt just the tiniest bit guilty.

"Sorry." She mumbled, and a tear slithered down her face, creating a damp cycle on the ground.

Shadow released her and stalked out of the cave to give her some privacy. He shut his eyes for a moment to calm the irritation within him, and upon opening them he had to blink from the bright sunlight. It was a rather gorgeous day, what with the clear blue skies overhead, the gentle breeze, and the singsong of jungle life, but being who he was, Shadow didn't even notice. He had stopped caring about those things after Maria's death. To him a new day was just another 24 hours he had to trudge through. But if Maria were alive, she probably would've said-

"Wow! What a beautiful day!" 

Shadow flinched at the cheery voice behind him. He turned, almost expecting to see Maria, but instead saw that Amy had come out of the cave. Her right arm was in the makeshift sling he had made the night before, she had attempted to brush her pink quills into obedience- without much success, and her maroon dress was torn in several places with missing buttons. But what caught him by surprise was the bright smile that beamed from her face. He had left her in tears and yet just a few minutes later she was back to her bubbly self. _I just can not understand this female._

Shadow watched as the pink hedgehog stretched and looked up, smiling at the sky. It annoyed him - how did she jump from one emotion to the next? He was obtuse when it came to emotions and had chosen long ago to only dwell on ones that he was familiar with. And usually only had time to feel one emotion at a time.

It hadn't always been that way, though; he did have memories of his time with Maria. During that time he’d been like anyone else, but after her death, Shadow the Hedgehog saw no use for those fickle feelings. They had only served to hinder him, and whether he would admit it or not, they almost always ended in pain. He grunted, making the girl turn to look at him.

"If you're done admiring the pathetic view, I would like to get moving now." 

Amy narrowed her gaze at his tone. What was _with_ this guy?

"Look, I'm happy to start going if that means getting away from your depressing attitude." She scowled at him and muttered, "Maybe if you weren't always so cynical, you wouldn't have a permanent frown." 

Shadow's usual glower deepened, and he folded his arms in stubborn frustration.

"Let's just get moving." He said, turning from her to lead the way into the thick jungle standing before them.

"Wait for me, Shadow!" He heard her shout as she burst through the undergrowth and stumbled on tired legs. Shadow rolled his eyes; this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Amy tripped, _again_ , and lifted her head to see Shadow's black-and-red-striped quills shiver in annoyance as he stopped and waited for her to get up. She rose slowly, determined not to show the pain she felt on her face. She didn't want him to have the satisfaction. She put a fake smile on and nodded to him, signaling she was ready to continue.

Shadow rolled his eyes and reluctantly trudged forward. When his back was to her, she flipped him off and gave an ugly face. She didn't appreciate his attitude; it wasn't like she _wanted_ to be stumbling around like some weak female. In fact, if she didn't have multiple bruises, gashes, and a broken arm, she would have been able to navigate the overgrowth on her own with ease.

"Sonic would just pick me up and run home instead of leaving me to walk, injured." She muttered. It barely came out as a whisper and it wasn't entirely meant for the scowling hedgehog's ears, so she was surprised when she received a reply.

"Then why don't you call the blue rat and have him take you out of my quills?" Shadow growled, not even sparing her a glance. Amy stopped and watched him continue to move through the thick foliage. Anger and annoyance flared up in her. She wasn't just angry at the hedgehog in front of her, but also the one who was back home, probably in the arms of a certain lavender-colored bandicoot.

"Because…” She started with an angry volume which quickly lowered as she felt her heart sink with the truth, “ he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore." 

She didn’t know why this felt like news to her, she had known that _long_ before this moment, but saying it aloud gave it a renewed meaning, along with a heavier emotional response. Sonic was obsessed with his first-ever girlfriend, even if the relationship was just casual. With that realization came all of the stress that had been building up in the past two days. Amy could feel fresh tears starting to well up; she felt hot as she tried to keep them from falling.

Shadow had stopped and was now staring at her, and that very act embarrassed her. It was bad enough that she was displaying such weakness, but here she was on the verge of crying her eyes out with freaking _Shadow the Hedgehog_ beside her, silently passing judgement on her and her pitiful existence.

She refused to let loose in front of someone who constantly told her how weak she was. She had prided herself in the past couple years - following their return from space - on becoming strong and independent. She didn't want her identity to be 'the pink hedgehog that fangirls over Sonic the Hedgehog.' _When will I ever get past that label? Is it too late?_

"It's your own fault for obsessing over that faker." 

Amy looked up to see Shadow glaring. She could see those very words, and more, burning in his eyes. Her face turned even redder than before, and she was tempted to pummel him with her hammer.

Shadow felt instant regret as he mulled over his words. Why had he said anything? Why hadn't he just ignored her like he usually did? He could see in her eyes the desire to smash him, and although he was faster than her, he knew he wouldn't get away unscathed. However, to his surprise, the rose hedgehog's face suddenly morphed into one of great pain, and she looked over to the left, rubbing her broken arm.

"You're right. I came to that realization yesterday." 

Shadow was shocked. He had never heard of the pink hedgehog admitting to the hopelessness of her eternal chase. Again she looked him in the eye, jade meeting ruby, and she said something that stirred a new emotion in the black hedgehog’s heart,

"But Shadow, what can I do? When I almost died yesterday, I realized, I... I don't know if I can live without my... so called obsession. It's not because I'm stubborn, or even that I _want_ to live this way," 

Her bottom lip trembled, and she took a shaky breath before continuing, "I-It's that I've left pieces of myself behind, and after such a long time of chasing an endless dream, now I'm just a shell." She closed her eyes, and her body started to shake.

Shadow didn’t know why he wasn’t stopping her. Usually this type of oversharing was obnoxious to him, and he would shut it down. But for some reason it was different with this girl, for some reason he felt he could understand her… understand her emotions. This had never happened to him before, and he found he could not stop her from the pure curiosity he had to hear the rest of what she had to say.

"I feel like I've spent _so_ much time searching for something that doesn't exist, that I've become weak, and so I've lost myself along the way. And I don't know how to find Amy Rose anymore. And the scary thing is, I don't think there is anyone alive who would search for me. Who would try and find me, make me whole again? No one cares about the 'Sonic Crazed' pink hedgehog."

They stood in silence, staring at each other. Now that she had let it all out, and calmed down, Amy started to sweat with anxiety. _Why did I say that? And to_ **_Shadow the Hedgehog_ ** _of all people?_ The reality of what she'd done smacked her upside the head. She’d just shared all her secret worries and fears to someone who was notorious for not giving a shit about anything. _Chaos, he's probably_ **_really_ ** _annoyed now._

"Uh... just forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything." Amy quickly exclaimed, and moved past the hedgehog so that he couldn't see the tears that had started to slip undeterred down her face. Shadow stared at the girl's hunched back as she walked away, and impossibly, he felt his heart squeeze.

He had never had anyone tell him something so openly and with such honesty; even Maria had hidden things from him, especially when it had to do with the pain from her illness. Wait, scratch that, there was someone who'd been honest in the past, and that person had also been Amy, that one time on the ARK. The time when she had made him remember the true Maria, the true memories of the kind, precious human girl, and not the poison that Eggman had whispered in his ear.

He was about to grab her when there was a flash of blue, and a familiar hedgehog appeared, as though summoned like the devil himself.

"Hey-ya, Amy, Shadow!" Sonic said, throwing them two thumbs up. He was wearing a simple letterman jacket, and his face was displaying his trademark smile. Shadow inwardly rolled his eyes. _Great, now the second half of the annoying duo has arrived._ Amy quickly turned her back to Sonic and rubbed her eyes with her good hand.

"Amy?" Sonic asked, leaning over to try and get a better look at the pink hedgehog. Shadow could tell she was trying to hide herself from him, and before he realized what he was doing he was grabbing the blue hero and growling in his face.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Shadow snapped. Those emerald green eyes - that Shadow _despised_ \- turned their undivided attention onto him. He had successfully distracted the blue hero, and he quickly found out that he didn't like it in the least.

"Whoa, Dude, what's with all the hate?" Sonic asked, brushing Shadow's hand off his arm, "It's really none of your business why I'm here, because I came for Amy. So you can lay off, Faker." He turned and touched Amy on her shoulder.

"You okay, Ames?" He asked, concerned. Amy froze at the sound of her nickname, and all of her attention focused on where Sonic was touching her. _It's okay, Amy. Calm down._ Why did he always do things that made her like him more? She turned and plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Hey, Sonic! Didn't know you were coming!" 

Sonic relaxed, tricked easily by the bright smile, but even though he didn't know why, Shadow could tell she was acting. Perhaps it was the look in her eyes, the small fragment of sad awkwardness.

"I got it out of Sticks earlier today, and when she said Shadow was with you... well, I got worried." His eyes traveled around her body, and they widened in gradual realization. 

"What happened? You're injured!" He exclaimed, immediately fussing about her multiple injuries.

Amy couldn't help but have her heart skip a beat at the concern in his voice. _Stop! Stop acting like you care! You're confusing me!_ She inwardly screamed at the oblivious male. She seriously considered just ripping into him, but instead, she just used her left hand and nervously fiddled with the sling holding her damaged arm.

"I had a... run-in with Lyric." She shrugged like it was nothing. Shadow grunted, earning a glare from her.

"Why didn't you call me?" Sonic accused, and Amy flinched. Sonic didn't seem to notice and continued, "Well, I'm taking you home now. Tails needs to have a look at that right away." Sonic moved towards her to pick her up, but she stepped back. Sonic was slightly shocked, as was Shadow. She was never one to knock down the offer of being carried by her blue hero.

Amy simply shook her head. "I'm fine. Shadow is helping me." The words sounded foreign, as though it wasn't her speaking them, and she stepped closer to the black hedgehog.

Sonic's eyes widened slightly."What the...?"

Amy stopped next to Shadow, and her jade eyes narrowed as she stared at Sonic's dumbfounded expression. "I didn't call you because I thought you would be busy with _Perci._ " 

Everyone could hear the bitterness in her voice, and immediately, Sonic's face went from shocked to defensive. His quills bristled slightly and it was obvious to him now that Amy was still hung up on the fight they’d had. 

"You're bringing that up _again_?!" He exclaimed, his emerald eyes burning. "What's your problem?! Ever since I started hanging out with Perci, you've been acting weird." 

Amy looked towards Shadow's feet, her ears flattened against her head. Shadow could clearly see the hurt and betrayal in her eyes and it made him angry.

"Why are you still like this? You're twenty now, and I thought you had matured past this behavior!"

Amy flinched at his words. _I can't move past it because_ ** _you_** _kept leading me on, asshole! All those times since moving here, when you took me out, just us. Those times you acted jealous when I was hit on by other males. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!_ She mentally screamed, but she remained silent.

Sonic was glaring at her sternly. His breath was heavy, his ears flat from the annoyance of having to deal with what he deemed to be Amy's childishness. Shadow looked at Amy, and he noticed that her good hand was shaking ever so slightly. The asshole was hurting this girl for no reason, and the Ultimate Life Form found himself getting _really_ angry. Perhaps he was growing soft, or maybe it was pride and need to combat Sonic, but either way, this demanded attention. He stepped between the two feuding hedgehogs and narrowed his ruby eyes on Sonic.

"Lay off - go run back to where you came from. Can't you see the girl is exhausted and hurt? This isn’t the time to engage in a petty squabble. Leave her to me and go cool off your hot head," Shadow growled in a low voice.

Sonic glanced between the two with a judgmental gaze. He was upset, mainly because he was worried about Amy, and he wanted to help her. She was one of his best friends, and he didn't understand what he’d done wrong to make the pink hedgehog so angry with him. Sure, he was dating someone now, and he hadn't chosen Amy. He’d thought he would have, but Perci was wild, new; and for a hedgehog who liked adventure, she seemed much more appealing than safe, predictable Amy Rose. Besides, he had honestly thought she’d gotten over her childhood crush on him. 

Sonic eventually sighed; he didn't like where the situation was going, and he was running late for a date with Perci anyway. If Amy needed some time to cool off, then he would happily give it to her.

"Fine.” He conceded, “But if she isn't back by tonight," and he paused, looking straight into Shadow's eyes, "I will make sure you never see another day on Mobius." 

For a few minutes the two males were locked in a deadly stare off until finally Sonic flashed a smile and directed his attention to Amy.

"Get home safe, Ames. Shoot me a text when you arrive; I'll probably be out with Perci, so I'll see you tomorrow." And with that he was gone, leaving behind a blue blur. There was a silence left between the two remaining hedgehogs, and all that could be heard were the sounds of jungle life.

Shadow turned to look over at Amy - she had her head down, and despite her headband her quills were concealing her face from view. Shadow was about to say some snarky comment about her putting too much faith in a lacking hero, when suddenly the pink hedgehog collapsed to her knees. He took a step back and braced himself for crying, but what really happened was even worse than tears. Amy Rose threw her head back and started laughing. Her eyes were shut and her left hand was on the ground to brace herself while her petite body shook in violent laughter. Shadow was severely disturbed at the unnatural reaction.

Her jade eyes snapped open and looked up into his shocked face.

"You must think I'm pathetic. Or crazy!" Amy giggled, "I mean, _look_ at me!" She screamed, putting out her arms, and when she winced in pain from her right arm, it brought on another wave of laughter.

"Here I am, a girl severely injured, a girl who almost died the day before, who felt and tasted death. But do you know the thing that's hurting me the most? It's that idiot, Sonic."

She chuckled softly, a tear running down her face, "I mean, I should have known, right? That he didn't really care about me. You said so before, many times, actually. My friends told me, heck, even _Sonic_ doesn't hide it. But there had been those times," Her eyes narrowed and focused on something distant, her voice growing soft as she continued,

"Those times when he had been _so_ sweet, when he had taken me out, just me and him. How it seemed he enjoyed his time with me. And hell, those times I _almost_ dated someone else, and he would pout, and find some excuse why I shouldn't date them. Doesn't that seem like he might have returned my feelings? Finally, after years of patient waiting?" She smiled, but there was no joy.

Shadow could see the sadness, the pain in that one twisted, simple expression. Her eyes looked up at Shadow again, and this time he felt true fear, something he hadn't felt since Maria's death. Her eyes were empty, nothing of the bright, happy, pink hedgehog left. She carried the look of death.

Shadow remembered what she had said earlier, _'It's that I've left pieces of myself behind, and after such a long time of chasing an endless dream, now I am just a shell.'_

"Like a stupid girl, a _weak_ girl, I held onto those moments. Hoping, _praying_ that they were a sign. That, maybe, all my waiting, all my chasing, might amount to something. And yesterday I found out that it hadn't, and never would." Shadow stared at her, and she gave another tainted smile.

Suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head, her eyelids fluttered closed, and she started to fall in a faint, but Shadow quickly reached under her broken body and lifted her gently to his chest. Shadow was actually surprised she hadn't collapsed sooner, considering all the stress she had been through the past two days, physical and emotional. He bent his neck and quickly assessed whether or not she was running a fever, but a hand to her forehead dismissed that worry. He left his hand on her face for a moment before lifting it gently, causing the little hedgehog to moan.

As he stared down at the fragile-looking girl in his arms, he felt a wall he had put up years ago, crack. He watched her sleep for a few minutes, her chest rising and falling in a smooth rhythm. Her face finally showed peace for the first time since he had helped her. With a shiver, Shadow realized that Amy Rose wasn't weak; that, in fact, she may be the strongest person he’d ever met.

* * *

Amy moaned and rolled over, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. She was warm and comfortable, and there was a blanket around her that felt very familiar. Her jade eyes snapped open to reveal the pink and purple shades of her hut.

 _Wha?_ She thought groggily. Wasn't she supposed to be in the jungle, looking for artifacts? She moved to bring her right arm up to her head, but she gasped as sharp bolts of pain arched through her body from the very movement. She looked down, seeing it in a makeshift sling, and the events of the past few days flashed in her mind. _Right, I almost died, Shadow saved me, Sonic came but then we fought… again. That’s the last thing I remember…_ She looked around again and her ears twitched. _So, Shadow must’ve brought me home. Wait..._ _where is_ _Shadow?_

She looked up, scanning her home suspiciously. She was in her decently-sized bedroom. Her bed was queen sized with a cute, fluffy, baby pink comforter and little plushies. She had a desk and dresser that matched - gifts from Tails, and the ceiling was decorated with tiny, white Christmas lights and sparkling stars. She had several pictures of her and her friends and some of her own art hanging on the wall. Her door opened into the living room, where she could just make out the back of her couch.

That's where she saw black quills poking over the top.

Amy got up carefully, but even the gentlest of movements caused her face to twist into a wince. When she finally did get up, she made her way into the living room to discover that it was still daylight. The sunlight was running its warming rays through the room. Confused, she glanced at the flower-shaped clock on the wall. _4:37 pm._

Finally confident in her world once more, she returned to her room to quickly change out of her tattered dress. After she was finished, she saw that Shadow hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch so she walked around the furniture until she stood before a sleeping hedgehog, and she refrained from a giggle. Shadow was lying down on the cushions with his eyes closed and his right arm was propping his head up. His brow was furrowed as though he were thinking a bad thought, and his body seemed tense and stiff.

"That's an odd way to sleep." Amy whispered thoughtfully. At the sound of her voice, the black hedgehog's ear twitched and his ruby eyes snapped open, staring at her intently.

"I wasn't sleeping - you were." He stated, sitting up and stretching. Amy’s jade eyes snapped wide open in startelement and she blushed profusely while looking away. Her hand started to, once again, fiddle with her sling. Her lips twisted in embarrassment, and her demeanor screamed nervousness.

Shadow smirked, _She's kinda cute when she's nervous._

He froze; what the hell had he just thought?

"Um, hey, Shadow." Amy muttered, turning her head to look at him. "Um, thanks, for, uh, taking me home." 

Her voice succeeded in washing his troubled thoughts away and Shadow sighed, shrugging with the exhale.

"It was nothing; plus, I promised, didn't I?" He stood up and made for the door. He wasn’t keen on staying much longer, especially considering the way this girl could so easily get under his quills and screw with his mind.

"Um, wait!" Amy exclaimed, catching his arm before he could escape. He snapped his head around and gruffly said, "What, Rose?"

Amy blushed again - what was _with_ her? She was acting like a schoolgirl! She could feel her heart racing, and she attributed it to her gratefulness. Knowing that Shadow was very close to shaking her off and running away, she gritted her teeth and gave herself a pep talk. _Keep it together,_ _Amy. Stop acting weird, you're embarrassing yourself._

"Well, I thought... you know, since you came all this way, it would be rude if I didn't treat you right - I mean, as a guest of my house, that is." 

Shadow's eyes narrowed. A suspicious feeling growing in his gutt. It would be better if he could just shake her grip from and leave this house and crazy female behind. He cursed himself as his mouth moved without his control,

"What did you have in mind?" 

He was already regretting falling into her trap, _screw it! I’m just gonna leave._ Just as his hand raised to remove hers, he was stopped by a brilliant smile, and eager peridot eyes.

"Well, dinner, of course!" She chirped, and without waiting for a response, she pulled him with surprising strength to her dining area. She plopped him onto the table and set about fixing a dinner.

Shadow again considered just leaving when her back was turned but as he watched her move gracefully through her kitchen humming happily despite his arm, he grew curious. She only occasionally asked him for help when she needed something that required two hands. He was impressed with her ingenuity.

Amy was in another thought space entirely. Being able to cook for someone made Amy happier than she had been for the past month. It had been a while since she’d been able to make food for someone to eat, and it was something she hadn’t realized until that moment how much she missed it. She also felt oddly comfortable with the black hedgehog, as though they had been close friends for a long time. Then again, maybe it wasn't all that surprising; he _had_ saved her life, after all, and she’d spilled her guts out to him. In fact, he was the only person that knew all her inner thoughts. This made her a little embarrassed, but looking at his bored face, she realized he didn’t care. She decided to let it go, and looked over the meal she’d prepared. Satisfied with her work, she walked over to the table.

"Here you go! One Amy Special!" She said, laying a plate in front of Shadow with a grin. Shadow looked at her bright eyes and grumbled, but whatever she had made smelled good, and he looked down to inspect it. It was a panini with some sort of red sauce on top, the sandwich was held together with a little toothpick, and Shadow could see some meat and melted cheese coming out of the sides.

"What is it?" He asked, suspicion clear in his tone as his gaze met hers. Amy was sitting across from him now, a similar sandwich in front of her. She rolled her eyes good naturedly and smiled at him again.

"It's a secret! Just trust me and take a bite." 

Amy hadn't touched hers yet. She was far too interested in witnessing his reaction to consider eating her own . Shadow looked at her with disgust, but lifted the panini to his muzzle anyway. He took a small bite, not knowing what to expect from the crazy pink hedgehog, but when the food touched his tongue, he couldn't help the look of surprise that swept across his face.

It was the best thing Shadow had ever tasted in his life, although he'd never admit it. Sure, he never really cared _what_ he put in his mouth, but occasionally he had gone to restaurants that raved about their food, and none could compare to this one panini.

"So… how is it?"

Shadow looked back up at her to see that her face was contorted with worry, and she was fiddling with her sling again. Shadow realized this must be one of her nervous ticks. _Interesting._

"It's good." He said simply and continued eating. 

Amy's face suddenly broke out into a beautiful smile… one that brought painful yet welcoming memories. She - his Maria - used to smile like that when he complimented something she had done. What was it about this girl that kept drawing him to her? He should’ve been gone hours ago… just why had he stayed until she’d woken up? Why had he agreed to eating dinner with her? These questions and more twirled around his head like an out of control merry-go-round, and it didn’t stop as he watched her hum in happiness at his compliment.

Feeling relieved that her food was edible and her guest appeared to be content, Amy set her attention to her own plate.

They ate in companionable silence, and when they were finished Amy got up to take care of the dishes, but a black arm gently pushed her back into her seat.

"Let me; you cooked, so I'll clean." She opened her mouth to protest, but Shadow rolled his eyes and firmly held her in place.

"Don't be a fool, Amy. You have a broken arm. Just let me do the dishes." 

Amy looked up into his steely, red eyes and sighed, obviously defeated. She waved him towards the sink. Shadow smirked, and Amy stuck out her tongue when his back was turned.

She sat back and watched as he swayed side to side while scrubbing the dishes.

She was thankful for the kind gestures because she was finding it rather hard to move about freely, but this wasn't like the gloomy hedgehog. Amy was slightly confused; why was Shadow being nice? Well, not _nice,_ per se, but at least _decent_.

 _Maybe it's because I've never actually spent this much time with him… Well,_ _without either Eggman or some other enemy fighting us, at least. It’s entirely possible that he is naturally like this, and I just didn’t know._ She felt a smile form on her lips for what felt like the millionth time. It was kind of nice to have someone here to keep her company...

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

The abrupt noise brought her out of her chair, ripping her away from her contented thoughts. Odd… she wasn't expecting anyone. Stealing a glance at Shadow, who seemed preoccupied with dish soap, she snuck away to answer the door.

Her good hand hovered over the doorknob hesitantly. What if it was Sonic… she opened the door gradually, but a blond fox with startling blue eyes pushed the door open further.

"Oh! Hello, Tails!"

Tails narrowed his gaze on her as he brushed past her, turning around once to give her a look over. "I'm gone for one day, _one day,_ and you manage to injure yourself to the point of great concern." The fox shook his head in disappointment.

"Can't leave any of you animals alone." 

Amy chuckled. Tails sometimes acted like an overprotective, big brother, even though the only one who was younger than him - and only by three months - was Sticks. With her good hand, Amy ruffled his fur and smiled, trying to reassure him of her safety, 

"I'm fine, really. Shadow helped me and took me home, and don't worry about Sonic and me - just give us a day to cool off. You know how it goes."

The young fox sighed, shaking his head. "You know that Sonic's the reason I'm here, by the way, right? You haven't texted him and he wanted me to check up on you." Amy couldn't help but narrow her eyes coldly when _his_ name was brought up.

 _So he cares,_ now _?_ She knew it was a little unfair to think that of him… despite his flaws Sonic definitely cared for all of his friends. But that's what hurt. He treated her as just a friend, and nothing more. She clenched her good hand as she turned from her friend and maneuvered back to the kitchen. The water was still running and the scent of flowery dish soap calmed her sudden frustration... but only slightly.

"He should just be concerned with himself and _Perci."_ She snidely responded.

At her response, Tails didn't say anything, because to be quite honest he could relate with her frustrations. Sonic had become a little distant from everyone ever since he began dating Perci. Not to mention that Tails had really thought Sonic and Amy were the obvious couple, and was surprised that the blue hero had turned to a different female. Walking into the kitchen, Tails' eyes widened when he caught sight of the Ultimate Life Form washing dishes.

"Um, Amy, what is Shadow _doing_ ? That _is_ Shadow, right?" He asked, perplexed, and a little intimidated by the aloof hedgehog. His question came off a little rude but thankfully Shadow decided to ignore him and finish up with the silverware.

"He's… um, washing the dishes from our dinner." Amy replied, blushing slightly at how it might've sounded. Tails scoffed; he never thought he would live to see the day when Shadow the Hedgehog did household chores. He would have mulled over the very idea if it were not for the realization that tickled the back of his brain. Dinner?

"Your dinner? You guys had dinner together? Why is he still here in the first place?" His voice wasn't very friendly and to Shadow, sounded a little accusatory. _Leave it to the lap fox of Sonic to instantly think the worst of me._ He was quite fed up with the attitude, so he turned to put the young genius in his place, but was stopped as Amy stepped between them. Her legs were spread in a firm stance, and from the back, Shadow could see her quills rising slightly in anger. 

"Miles Tails Prower, stop asking so many damn questions! I made Shadow dinner because we have been traveling all day and he carried me home after I fainted. And if you _must_ know, he’s here because he saved me from Lyric. I wanted to thank him." Amy narrowed her gaze, jade eyes burning.

"I will not have you insulting my guests, and since this is _my_ house, you'd better listen to me or you'll be eating _my hammer_ for _your_ dinner." 

She wasn’t yelling, but her words rang sharply around the house. Afterwards, there was only the sound of running water coming from the sink before Tails awkwardly chuckled and put his hands up in defeat.

"Okay, okay, jeez! I was only making sure you were okay, Amy. No need to go batshit insane." The fox relented with a smile on his face as he cautiously wandered over to the table, his swishing namesakes making it difficult to sit down. Amy visibly relaxed and moved to the counter where she always kept a pitcher of filtered water. She poured some in a glass and placed it in front of the fox, smiling. The fox smiled back and took a generous gulp from the peace offering.

"Thanks, Amy." 

Amy nodded and poured one for herself and Shadow as well. She sat at the table, and then looked over at Shadow with a gentle curiosity,

"You can turn off the water now, Shadow. You're done with the dishes, right?"

Shadow, who had been openly staring at the pink female with his back to the sink, blinked a couple of times and nodded gruffly.

"I guess I should get going." He muttered, turning the water off, and started heading toward the door. But then he felt a little hand firmly grip his arm and hold him back, _again_.

"Aw, that's no fun! You travel a lot, right? Looking for all the Chaos Emeralds and such... Why don't you catch up with us for a bit?" Shadow looked down at Amy's big, pleading eyes. This was bad. She was beginning to remind him so much of Maria, more so in the past few days than in the past itself, and he'd always found it hard to say 'no' to the angelic human and pink hedgehog alike.

To hell with her neediness and likeness to his Maria, he was gonna end this now. No way was he goin-

"Hmm?" She blinked slowly, her lips parting slightly, and Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But don't expect me to be happy about it." He grumbled finally, allowing the pink girl to drag him to the table.

"Fantastic! I think I have some ice cream in the freezer, so let's all have dessert and catch up!" He flinched at her bubbling happiness, but there was nothing else to do; he was a bee caught in her sweet honey trap, and there was absolutely no way to escape.

* * *

After a couple of hours of trading stories and laughs (it was always Amy or Tails laughing, as the most they got out of the black hedgehog was a smirk or a bemused grunt), Shadow found that he was surprisingly comfortable with the two Mobians. Most of the time social situations tired him out, but Amy seemed to always know when to ask him questions and when to let him stay silent and just listen to Tails or herself.

After a particularly hilarious story from Tails, about one of his inventions going haywire, there was a comfortable silence around the table, allowing the group to mull over the evening. Amy was sketching out some thumb prints for a series of paintings she wanted to make, Shadow was leaning back with his eyes closed, looking the most relaxed that either of the other Mobians had ever seen him.

Tails was observing the two, the way they seemed comfortable around each other only after a few hours together. The way that Amy silently worked around the other hedgehog’s stubbornness, and probably the most damning of all was the way Shadow was completely relaxed. He had never seen the male act that way before. An idea formed in the young genius' mind, 

"You know…” He suggested in a casual tone, “Maybe you should stick around for a while, Shadow." 

Amy and Shadow looked at him, slightly shocked. True, Shadow wasn't all evil, but it wasn't normal for him to hang around their group for long. Then again, what was normal about sharing stories, laughter, and ice cream with the Ultimate Life Form?

Tails shrunk back a bit at the sudden attention, but quickly recovered to defend himself, 

"Come on! We hardly ever see you, and admit it or not, we are all friends here." That and Amy looked genuinely happy, which was rare nowadays. The fox refrained on adding such observations because he'd probably meet the infamous hammer.

He looked to Amy for support. She caught his gaze and nodded, "Yeah, I mean, it's pretty calm right now. Eggman has moved on from the Chaos Emeralds - who knows why - but thank Chaos for that. So it's not like it's as important as before that all of them are accounted for."

Shadow narrowed his eyes and grunted, "That may be true, but I still need at least one. I haven't had one in a while, and I've been searching around for months without any luck."

Tails grumbled but then another idea sparked, "I can help you with that!" He said, excitement making him spin his tails as he floated a little above his seat. "Look, I have an old device from the time when we were on Chris' planet, and with a little tweaking, I think I can make it more operational than before."

"Uh… I don't know…" Shadow said hesitantly, he was someone who didn't and wasn't used to help from other people. It was that reason as well as the fact that some of the fox's inventions didn't always come out correctly. He'd heard enough stories from Tails over the ice cream to realize that.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Amy exclaimed as she placed her left hand on Shadow's arm, causing the coal male to flinch, but he didn't pull away. 

"Come, on Shadow! You just admitted that you were having trouble; give us a chance to help you, like you helped me." She was making those eyes again, and Shadow felt another crack in his walls.

"But where would I stay? I don't have a house like you people." He argued, using his last reasonable excuse. Their points were... logical and he feared he was losing the battle. With no excuses, he would have a hard time refusing. He wanted to just get up and leave because it was becoming hard saying "no" to someone who reminded him so much of his Maria. However, there was a small, unacknowledged, part of him that was tired of his constant solitude and his continual failures in his seemingly endless search for emeralds.

"Well, that's easy, you can stay with us!" Tails announced, leaning back triumphantly.

Shadow narrowed his eyes."By 'us,' you mean?" 

Tails averted his gaze, seeing right away where this was going.

"Uh... me and Sonic?" He said the last part hesitantly. Shadow smirked with dark pleasure, _Ha! Gotcha! They both know I would never live under the same roof as that faker._

"Nope." He replied shortly, his smirk growing.

Tails growled, "Come on, Shadow! So what?! Who cares if he is there or not?"

"I do. I’m not going to be sharing the same roof as that faker."

"Come on! He's hardly even there anymore! He spends most of his time at Perci’s apart-"

_SNAP_

Tails eyes widened, _oh dang! Amy! I forgot she was here!_ Amy had snapped her poor, wooden pencil in half with her one good hand, and now had her head lowered, while she glared at her sketchbook in front of her. Tails and Shadow both exchanged looks of _oh shit!_

Then, almost painfully slowly, she raised her face from her drawing with a smile plastered on her muzzle. It wasn't exactly what one would call a smile. One side of her lip was curled up like a cat's and it trembled as if holding in a growl. Even her right eye was twitching with the sudden anger that seemed to boil within her small body.

"My, my, Tails, I had no idea!" 

Turning to Shadow, she said in a sickly sweet voice, "See? All the more reason to stay. You could help out with Eggman when Sonic is too _busy_ to give a fuck because he's _giving_ a fuck!" She chuckled at her own morbid joke, and her smile looked anything but amused. Her laugh made both males shrink back and they gulped nervously. 

"But I completely agree with you about sharing a house with that… that _sex crazed_ hedgehog."

Tails flinched, wishing to Chaos he had kept his mouth shut. But there was no stopping her now, and she continued with her voice reaching a higher pitch than before,

"So here's what we can do, I have an extra room with a bed that I use as a guest room. Usually it's used by Cream when she visits, but recently she's been staying with Tails," The yellow fox blushed, looking away as Amy continued, "I was at a loss as to what I was going to do with an extra room, but thank Chaos a solution has presented itself! You can stay here!"

Amy was smiling with her fangs now, and Shadow found himself unconsciously nodding, worried what the pink female might do if he refused. Then, almost as though nothing had happened, Amy’s expression softened, and the genuine happiness in her eyes caused another crack to appear in Shadow's mental wall. 

"Wonderful!" She exclaimed.

And that's how it came about that Shadow the Hedgehog found himself as Amy Rose's reluctant roommate.


	4. Drunken Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Again Readers!
> 
> I hope you all are doing well in this quarantine, I know I miss going to the hair salon and nail parlor :( But hopefully life will calm down soon.
> 
> Thanks to Chinarai for the review! I can't wait to hear from you and new readers!
> 
> Well here is the next chapter, I hope you all like the story so far!
> 
> Happy Reading!

**_CHAPTER 4: Drunken Promises_ **

"Oh Chaos, this bloody sucks!" Amy muttered, glaring at a school of colorful fish that swam in a large tank. Shadow rolled his eyes, and looked away with his arms crossed. He’d been forced to come along with the fox genius and the pink hedgehog to their hometown. Amy had needed real medical attention that she couldn't find in the small, nameless village that they lived in. He had been dragged along at the demand of Amy, she wanted to go shopping after the appointment to get things for Shadow’s room and for his basic care. His foot tapped irately on the ground at the thought, he still couldn't believe that he had actually _agreed_ to stay on Bygone Island... and at Amy’s hut no less. What had possessed him to say yes to the pink girl? Was it her stubbornness? Or maybe because she reminded him of Maria? It was a mystery for sure, and was one he wasn’t too sure he wanted to solve.

"I’m really, _really_ not looking forward to this." Amy grumbled again. 

Cream, who had come to support her best friend, and to see her two-tailed boyfriend, rubbed Amy’s back gently. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but it just served to set the hedgehog further on edge. The nurse who’d done the initial examination of her arm, and took x-rays had given them some somber news. Since Amy had waited two days to seek medical attention, the doctor would have to rebreak Amy’s arm to reset it properly to avoid the arm becoming deformed or infected later on.

Shadow kept his gaze on Amy. She was bouncing her leg up and down quickly like a jacksaw, and her left hand was continuously fiddling with her sling, exposing just how nervous she was. Suddenly he felt a rare emotion, bubble to the surface - empathy. It was one thing to be injured in battle without warning, but it was an _entirely_ different thing to actually wait and _allow_ people to inflict pain on you. Although the memories were now fogged with time, he could remember being a test subject for various potential cures that Dr. Gerald Robotnik had created for his granddaughter. Most of them had been painful, and he’d had to watch them approach with a needle and could do nothing to stop them. 

"Amy Rose." A bored male weasel in scrubs called from a door leading to the back offices. Amy gulped and used her left hand to squeeze the arm of the person on her left, which happened to be Shadow, who flinched and let loose a small growl which fell on deaf ears. Then, with a quick breath, she boldly stood up and dragged her friends along with her. The male nurse rolled his beady eyes at the dramatic display as he turned on his heel and led the party through the halls. 

Dr. Whitnel had a fairly spacious room with butterflies and flowers hanging from the ceiling. Amy slowly moved to the patient bed, and sat while looking anxiously around. Tails and Cream took the two guest chairs, while Shadow was left to lean against the wall with his arms crossed. Everyone was quiet as the nurse took Amy's blood pressure, checked her breathing, and made notes on the computer that sat on a small desk next to a sink in the corner.

"All right, Dr. Whitnel will be in to see you shortly. Just wait here until then." The brown weasel clicked his pen and stuffed it in his pocket before waddling out of the room.

Amy sighed; she hated waiting the most. Knowing what was most likely waiting for her the moment that door to the exam room was open was enough to set her teeth clattering and her hand fiddling with her sling.

"It’s okay, Amy. I am sure that once this is over you'll feel ten times better!" Cream tried to give a reassuring smile, but the shaking of her ears gave away her worry.

Amy only nodded, barely able to mimic the rabbit’s grin. Tails squeezed Cream's hand reassuringly and the little rabbit looked up; she was smiling still but her eyes betrayed her concern for her friend. Shadow rolled his eyes, and leaned further back, he wished to be anywhere but there.

“Well, hello!” They heard as the door to the office opened, revealing a tall, brown monkey. He had on a long, white lab coat with purple scrubs and a name tag that read _Dr. Whitnel_ with a little yellow smiley face next to it. His large eyes squinted through a pair of half-moon glasses. 

“So, who is Ms. Rose?”

“I am.” Amy replied nervously, the speed at which her fingers pulled at her sling quickened with her heightened emotions. 

“So I understand that you are here with a severely broken right arm. Do you mind if I take a brief look at it?” The Doctor asked as he took a seat on a rolling stool. He scooted slowly to the bed as if any sudden movements made would scare the hedgehog away. Although Mobians were very intelligent and human-like, they still had animalistic instincts, and the good doctor knew from experience to not make his patients feel threatened. Amy stared at him, fear in her eyes, but she nodded and removed her left hand which had been laying on her right protectively.

“Alright then,” he began as he ever so gently took hold of her arm, “I have taken a look at your X-rays more thoroughly and have decided that they haven't healed to the point where I would have to re-break your arm.” Amy looked up at the doctor, her eyes shining with hope. 

“Really?”

“Yes. At first it looked like it was healed, but it hasn't gotten to the point of no return. However, we do have to reset it to make sure the bone fragments are put into the right place and avoid deformation while it heals. I’ll be giving you a high dosage of pain medicine, but you will still be awake for the procedure. I want to try setting it without going to extreme measures such as surgery. So having you awake and feeling some pain will help me to set the bone in the right place.” 

Amy gulped. “Uh…” 

Dr. Whitnel smiled warmly and patted her good arm. “Well, we could do the surgery, so that you won’t feel anything during the procedure, but you will have to stay in the hospital for two days for observation, which can get quite expensive. However, if that is the route you want to take, then we can definitely do so.” 

Amy looked at him with a mixture of frustration and hopelessness. She had just finished her schooling and had no major archaeological discoveries to her name, which meant she was quite the poor hedgehog. She had managed to buy her hut with the left over of her inheritance, but her current funding came from the occasional journal article and guest lectures. Hospital bills were expensive, and she knew today alone was already piling on the bill.

“Could… could we try setting it first, and then if it's too much, could we move to surgery?” 

The doctor smiled warmly at her, and his blue eyes studied her steadily from behind his glasses, “That is possible... is that what you would like to try?” 

She looked over at her friends. Tails was nodding his head encouragingly and Cream looked like she was going to throw up - the rabbit was rather sensitive when it came to bodily fluid and pain. The mere thought of it made her nauseous.

Amy looked over at Shadow, but she couldn't read anything in his eyes or face. Shadow caught her stare and looked away. He couldn’t imagine the turmoil that Amy was going through right now. It was either, be in an enormous amount of pain, or lose an enormous amount of money and time. He had no idea what he would choose if it were him. Actually, he did. He would just say fuck it and heal himself with a Chaos Emerald. If he _had_ one.

Amy sighed and turned back to the doctor, who was waiting patiently, “Let's get this over with.”

* * *

“Wow… I nefer knew you were sho purdy.” Amy Rose giggled as she stroked some of Shadow's quills. Shadow growled and swatted her hand away, although all she did was giggle again and put her left hand to her face as though she were bashful.

“Your girlfriend is adorable,” Dr. Whitnel chuckled as he familiarized himself with her x-ray again, he wanted to be sure he knew exactly where her arm was broken and where to set it properly.

“She is _not_ my girlfriend,” Shadow refuted coldly, his ruby eyes narrowed and glaring. The doctor merely shrugged and continued with his back turned. 

Amy giggled again and made a kissy face at Shadow. “Aww, Shad's jus mad chuz he was force’ta come wif me.” 

Shadow glared at her in warning. Even if the pink hedgehog was high on pain meds, it didn't mean he couldn't smack her. Shadow _had_ been forced, in a way. Cream wouldn't have been able to handle the noise and Amy’s pain, and Tails had to comfort his girlfriend during the process. Amy had boldly said she would be fine by herself, but Shadow had seen her hand shaking, and her jaw set too firmly. He had reluctantly volunteered.

“Shad-OH! Shad-OH!” She whispered loudly.

“What?!” He growled, fangs snapping in irritation.

“Wanna ( **hiccup** ) hear a shecret?”

“No.” 

The pink hedgehog immediately pouted. “You're noes fun _nnn_.” 

Shadow refrained from a sigh, as he tried his absolute best to not lose his temper. Amy’s frown deepened, and she started to kick her legs in childish anger. 

“You better hear her out,” Dr. Whitnel stated, “I don't want her freaking out with those pain meds and her arm getting worse as a result.”

Shadow rolled his eyes and grit his teeth. “Fine,” the word was drawn out and pained, “I'll listen to your lame-ass secret.”

Amy immediately stopped flailing and looked at him with the eyes of an excited child. “Yay! Okay, sho, did yous kno’ I looffe Son-nik?” 

“Yes _ssss_ ,” He hissed. It was irritating to hear the pink girl gush about Sonic on a normal day, but having her praise him while high on medicine was even worse. Usually Shadow wasn’t subjected to her rants on the blue hero as they weren’t particularly close. However, two days ago had changed everything, and he was quickly realizing the actual hell he was now a citizen of.

“Wellz, I may loofe him, but I thin’,” she looked around and leaned closer to Shadow and whispered, “I thin’ you're _much much_ hotter than him. He is kinda ugly thez days.” She broke into another fit of laughter, leaving Shadow feeling very warm and his face very red.

“Damn females.” He muttered. He’d expected to hear some unwanted reason as to why she loved that blue imbecile, but instead she had turned it around to him. He honestly didn’t know how to process the statement she’s just made, and decided to turn from her as her giggles continued to ring out in the small exam room.

“Okay, it's time, Miss Rose.” As soon as those words reached her twitching ears, all laughter died. Amy’s eyes widened as far as her facial features would allow and she shook her head dramatically.

“I dun wanna! I’m shcared.” She said, tears threatening to spill as she curled up on the patient bed as best as she could, protectively cocooning her injured arm close to her stomach. The doctor tried moving towards her, but she bared her fangs in warning. Her beastly side was getting the best of her, instincts flaring at the worst possible moment. 

Shadow heard the doctor sigh, and saw him move towards a drawer in his desk. Dr. Whitnel had briefly informed Shadow beforehand of this potential issue and the consequences should it happen. Since Mobians still had many animalistic instincts, sometimes patients would attack the doctor and in those cases he would have to tranquilize them. In Amy’s case this was not the optimal outcome since she needed to be semi conscious for the setting of the bone. _Good,_ he thought a little smugly, _maybe this will get done faster this way._

However, when Shadow’s smirking face turned back to look at Amy, he was suddenly struck with a feeling similar to deja-vu. Her arms were shaking, and her quills were bristled, but it was the pure fear in her eyes that made Shadow’s smirk melt from his muzzle. Where had he seen those eyes before? And as he stared into them longer, the vibrant green bled into blue, and the peach/pink fur shifted to soft, pale ivory skin, and pink quills glimmered in gold, blond strands. Those fearful sapphires trembling with fear as she was forced to watch a silver needle pierce her arm, adding yet another bruise to the mosaic of purple and blue on pale skin. _Maria…_

Suddenly, he felt his body reacting before he had time to think properly. Hands imprisoned by golden bracelets rose and rested on Amy’s trembling cheeks. She flinched and tried to jerk from out of his hold, but his grip was firm. 

“Rose.” Shadow said, utilizing a tone he’d only ever used with that human child half a century ago. The very sound was rather unnatural coming from the Ultimate Lifeform. Nevertheless, Shadow kept on with it. Yet the wild Amy seemed unfazed. 

“Rose.” The second call of her name and a gentle squeeze to her head brought Amy’s gaze to his. When her eyes met his calm crimson gaze her aggression fell, and tears started falling like a waterfall. 

“I’m s’ared, it gonn’ hurt,” she miserably said between sniffles.

He remained with his hands cupping on either side of her cheeks. Normally the situation would be enough to make him gruffly curse and leave the room, but the similarities to this girl’s plight and Maria’s, froze him to the chair he sat in. It was as though he’d been given another chance to help the human through the hedgehog who now sniffled in between his hands. But beyond that, he was surprised to discover that he actually did want to help Amy, not just because of Maria, but because something about the pink girl stirred a protective side of him. A side that hadn’t been utilized since his departure from G.U.N.

Regardless, the situation was still awkward and strange to him, and so he drew on a faint memory of words shared by a grandfather to his granddaughter fifty years ago, “I know you’re scared, Rose, but I also know you can do it.” 

“How?” She asked, voice choking, “I'm weak, and dis who _oooo_ le time I only want’d Sonik to ‘ome. Why didn't he ‘ome? Doesn't he kno’ I’m hurt?” The words came as quickly as her tears fell. She was afraid of pain, but with the drugs influencing her… her fears that ran deeper than mere physical pain rushed forward. Solitude. Being forever alone in her misery, in her hurt. Fear of being abandoned. Therefore, her drowsy mind grasped for any kind of safety she could find, and all her life that had been the blue hero.

Shadow closed his eyes. He’d felt jealousy many times when it came to the blue faker, but this took the cake. _What did I expect? She’s loved him most of her life._ And why _should_ he care? Images were brought to his mind. One of those bright sapphire eyes in a moment of rare peace creasing in a smile. Another of a young, pink hedgehog, her viridian eyes pleading from behind salt water, as she begged him to save the world. Maria, that’s why. Amy on the ship, that’s why. Amy was different from anyone else he’d ever met. So similar to his human friend, yet so strikingly different, he found he’d become addicted to finding out more about what laid behind those strong, green eyes.

He opened his eyes and stared at her with as much patience as he could muster. He could ponder the mysteries of Amy Rose later, for now he needed to get her to cooperate.

“Amy, Sonic's an asshole,” the stern statement caused her to snap her gaze to his as he continued, “Don’t pretend it isn't true, you practically admitted it to me yesterday. He's not coming not now, and not anytime soon. I’m sure that even if we called him now, he’d make up some idiotic excuse to not come.” 

“But Rose,” he said quickly as her face screwed up in preparation to break into even more tears, “I'm here and I won't leave. Ever. I’ll be here through the whole thing, and I'll even let you hold my hand.” 

His mouth hung open slightly once the words had left his lips. _What the hell did I just say?_ He had planned on roughly snapping her into compliance, but as he’d watched her face slowly begin to crumble as he spoke the truth about Sonic, his focus had shifted without his realizing. _Shit… got to correct that._

“What I mean is-” But then the words died in his throat as a smile spread across the girl’s face. Her emerald eyes twinkled from salty diamonds, and her brows relaxed softly. It was stunning.

“Really? You won't e’er le’ve meh?” She whispered softly, her head leaning into the hand that still remained on her cheek.

Shadow stared at the innocent girl in front of him and he felt his wall finally start to crumble, piece by piece. He found himself making a promise that he’d only made once before, and although he had broken that promise years ago, he was determined to keep it this time. 

“I promise. I will never leave you, Amy Rose.” 

Amy’s demeanor gained life then, and her gaze wandered to the doctor who had been watching all along. He was smiling, musing over the scene of what looked like two hedgehog lovers. Shadow coughed, and quickly removed his hand from Amy’s face. Immediately the need to leave returned, but before he could stand up, his hand was gripped in a stronghold. He looked down at the girl, and she smiled mischievously up at him.

“You says I coooould.”

Shadow’s upper lip lifted in irritation, but he settled down all the same. She was right, even if he had unconsciously offered it, he had said she could hold his hand. He was a hedgehog of his word, and just like the promise, he would keep this as well. 

“You ready, Miss Rose?” Dr. Whitnel asked, finally approaching the patient now that concern of her wild side snapping up was gone. The pink hedgehog nodded, her smile still present.

“Ye _sssh_ , as lon’ as Sha-DOH’s here, I kno’ I'll b’ fine.” 

Shadow flinched at the conviction in her voice, but stayed silent as his fingers slightly twitched in Amy’s hand. Despite the strength behind her palm, he was surprised by how small and delicate it felt in his grip. The doctor nodded as he set to removing the sling. He worked as gently as he could, hands wandering down her bare arm as lightly as possible. It was swollen, and the skin beneath patchy peach fur was dark with a deep purple bruise. A green ring glowed with yellow around it, and a scab from where her bone had broken through, stared up at them like a pupil from the center of the wound. It was worse than she’d imagined, and Amy turned away, her quills once more on the verge of bristling.

“It's okay, Amy,” A deep voice said with the same tenderness from earlier. She turned and looked at Shadow, who was steady staring at her. In his firm gaze she found solace, and she felt her body relax slightly.

“I'm here, just look at me.” 

Amy nodded solemnly and clenched her jaw in preparation. When the sound of snapping and popping erupted, Amy's eyes squinted in pain. Her left hand squeezed onto Shadow’s for dear life, and the black hedgehog winced in reply. He thought briefly to all the times he’d seen her wield a hammer almost as large as herself. He had an off-topic thought that the only one who might be stronger than her was Knuckles, and even _he_ would have a run for his money.

Amy moaned and panted as more sickening pops and cracks reverberated off the walls. Shadow was shocked to see that the pink hedgehog was actually holding her own and not screaming and crying like he had expected. Nevertheless, he could feel her good arm shaking. 

Then he once again felt some other side of him take control and move his body without his full knowledge. Deciding not to dwell on what he was about to do, he lifted his free hand and placed it on her left cheek. Instantly she leaned into it, her eyes shut tight. 

“You're doing great, Amy. Don’t let a stupid arm defeat you!” He encouraged her. She turned into his hand and grunted as the loudest pop yet was heard.

“There. That should do it.” The doctor said, wiping sweat off his brow. His tail curled with the effort. 

“Now comes the fun part,” He said, winking. 

Amy opened her eyes to glare. “Ho’ is thish _fun_?” 

The doctor shrugged off the menacing voice and smiled softly at her, “Now you get to pick what color and design you want your cast to be.”

“Pink. With flow’rs.” She said without hesitation, and although she was in pain, she couldn't help but continue where she’d started- a bright smile.

* * *

As soon as her cast was set and they were able to leave, Amy had latched onto Shadow as though her life depended on it. He had tried several times to free himself from her grip, but every time he touched her left arm, she would give him a disapproving glare and whine. It was less troublesome to let her do as she pleased, much to the ebony hedgehog’s chagrin. 

Tails and Cream shared a look of uncertainty and confusion when the two hedgehogs left the doctor's office, arm in arm. Shadow, seeing them staring, glared at them with fury and tried, _again_ , to gently shove the pink girl off, but Amy had whined childishly, giving him big green eyes while shaking her head. Shadow sighed, gave up, and instead took her to the reception desk to pay the bill. 

Dr. Whitnel came out after them and headed towards the receptionist desk to drop off the prescription for Amy, but paused when he passed by Tails and Cream. 

“Does Ms. Amy have someone who can watch her for a couple of days?” He asked kindly. Cream simply blinked at him, still frozen by the bizarre scene in front of her. So Tails sighed and answered, “Well, we all live pretty close to each other, and actually... Shadow recently moved into Amy’s house as a roommate, so I believe they will be spending a lot of time together.” 

Dr. Whitnel raised an eyebrow at that and asked, “Are they dating?” 

Tails’ eyes grew to epic proportions at the very idea and he shook his head vigorously. “Oh _hell_ no! They hardly ever get along!” 

The doctor laughed at the fox’s extreme reaction, causing Shadow to glance at the trio before his attention was redirected to the receptionist once more.

“That's funny,” The doctor said, “I could have sworn they were together. The way that young male treats her... it’s like a man with a precious treasure,” He chuckled as Tails and Cream shared a look of utter shock. Shadow, treating _Amy_ like a _treasure?_ Impossible.

“Well, if they aren't together then I’m positive that they will be soon. Only time will tell!” Dr. Whitnel predicted, laughing all the while as he made his leave. 

When they’d made it back to the plane, they had decided that it would be in Amy’s best interests to get her home. With that in mind, Cream tried to gently pry Amy off of Shadow, but as a result, she was pushed roughly aside by the stubborn female. Amy was being oddly clingy with the ebony male, something she had only ever done with Sonic before.

“Come _on_ , Ms. Amy! You have to get home and rest.”

“No.” Amy said with a childish voice, and Shadow flinched as her grip on him tightened. 

Tails, who had been bringing the X Tornado to life, came over and put his hand on her shoulder. Drugs or not, he was getting rather tired of her attitude. This was a common occurrence with their blue hero, so although the situation was a little strange, he relied on a previously successful approach at getting Amy to snap out of it.

“Amy, stop acting like a child. You're an adult; it's time to be responsible and let Shadow go.” Chaos that sounded weird coming out of his mouth, but he shook the feeling and stared at her with a brow raised and tails flicking.

Amy looked at him silently, and Tails thought he’d gotten through to her, but then she twisted her face and stuck out her tongue.

“You no’ the boss _sss_ of me! You can' tells me what ta’do!” She taunted, giving a little giggle. 

The fox started to shake in anger and annoyance; Amy could be annoying with her normal attitude, but the drugs seemed to enhance it tenfold. Shadow rolled his eyes. _Looks like I’ll have to do something. These idiots don't know how to deal with her._

He gave Tails a look and said, “Give me a second.”

Tails shrugged, no longer interested in getting involved, and turned around to continue preparing the plane for takeoff. Shadow pulled his burden a few feet away, to the other side of the plane and out of view. Once he was satisfied that they wouldn’t be overheard, he gently, but firmly, turned Amy to face him.

“Amy.” He said. She looked away from him, studying the ground.

“Rose,” he tried again, “What's wrong? Why don't you want to go home?” 

She put her bottom lip out again, an expression that was really starting to get on his nerves, and stayed silent. 

Shadow sighed. “If you don't tell me, I _will_ knock you out and force you into the plane myself.” 

Amy moaned and looked at him with her bright jade eyes. Her bottom lip trembled and a part of her wanted to stay silent, not wanting to share her fears. However, another part, a much larger part, wanted to tell him everything. It must have been the influence of the drugs or maybe it was just _Shadow_ , but the pink hedgehog found herself telling him the truth, like she had yesterday in the jungle.

“I don _nn_ wanna be ‘lone,” She admitted in a whisper. Her voice sounded young and scared. Shadow’s ears went back in surprise as she looked away from him again.

“I’m in pain, and ev’n on normal day I sometimes _ss_ can't stand the empt’ness of m’ house. Tailsh has Cream, and… Son-ik.” Her voice was starting to sound just slightly normal again, and it was a little bit easier for the ebony male to make out what she was saying. 

“Sonic’s alwaze there fur Tails and an’one elssse. But whoze there fur me? I can't ask Cream t’stay, ‘cause sh’ll wanna spend time wi’ Tails, and Sticks is… well, Sticksss.” She chuckled and pushed Shadow’s arms off.

“N’erm’nd, ’m fine now. I dunno what it ith about you, but I seem ta al’ays say pitiful things ta you.” 

Unbeknownst to Amy, Shadow didn’t think what she was saying was pitiful at all. In fact her words resonated with an unspoken, and unacknowledged voice in his own heart. Loneliness. That heavy feeling that slowly dragged down a person until all they felt was a burning desire to escape. To find someone, anyone, to help take the weight away. It was something he could relate to, but would never admit to. 

Amy was about to walk past him when Shadow thought, _fuck it. She probably won't remember this anyway, because she’s high._ He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a very awkward hug. Amy’s eyes went wide and she looked up at him through his white chest fur.

“Uh, Sh’dOH?”

“Shut up.” He growled, turning his face, glad they were on the opposite side of the plane from Tails and Cream.

“Look, you won't be alone for long. I’m living with you now, remember?”

A brief silence, and then a muffled voice came out from his chest, “Oh _hh_ , ye’.” 

He felt a little ticklish where her lips moved on his fur, and it sent a shiver up his spine. The feeling wasn’t unpleasant, but it was definitely unfamiliar.

“I won't take long. Have Cream help you get cleaned up and then I’ll be home before you know it.” 

_Home._ It struck him that he had never really had a home, much less someone waiting for him. The closest thing he’d had was the apartment that he’d shared with Rouge while they worked for G.U.N. and that hadn’t felt much like a home. He was almost always gone on missions, or kicked out when Rouge brought a ‘friend’ over. To finally call a place his home made his heart feel… odd. It was just such a _domestic_ thing that he’d never thought he’d say. Yet another new emotion that he couldn't quite wrap his mind around. It felt weird to say that, hell everything he was saying and doing today was so out of his comfort zone he didn’t quite know how to deal with it.

“Oka’… promise?” She asked, tearing him from the whirlwind of thoughts and looking up at him with large green eyes that shone from beneath his soft white fur.

“Promise,” he replied, genuinely meaning it. 

* * *

Shadow was giving toothbrushes, in the hygiene aisle of a random drug store, a death glare. If one were to look at him, they would think he was taking the purchase of a brush very seriously. However, in reality, he was still incredibly confused on what was happening to him in regards to a certain pink hedgehog. He’d never felt like this about anyone before, not even with Maria. Amy made him feel… wanted. Maria had always pushed him away, her embarrassment of revealing her true feelings and problems keeping her from letting him in. But Amy was different. In the past couple days she had opened herself up to him, trusted him with her deepest concerns, and had leaned on him for help. She seemed to fill his thoughts and concerns, and his body itched to rush to her side and keep her safe. What baffled him even more was the fact that it was even happening in the first place. 

Sure, they had _known_ each other for years, but he’d never really seen much of her outside of battles and on the rare occasion they’d been near each other in civilian life, she had been attached to Sonic at the hip. Not a situation that he willingly put himself into, considering it meant interacting with that blue faker. Not when her arm was wrapped around his waist, and her bright viridian eyes were glazed with adoration and directed to that idiot’s face. He growled, anger at the imaginary scene bubbling to the surface. Why was he angry, and what was this toxic feeling eating away at his stomach at the thought of Sonic and Amy arm in arm? Sure he’d occasionally think of her, ever since the ARK, but never like this.

He punched his fist into the shelf, causing a nearby shopper to jump and give him a glare. Shadow glared back and growled, “What?! You have a problem?” 

The shopper either didn’t recognize the famous Mobian hero, or didn’t care, because he hissed and deepened his glower at the violent response. Shadow narrowed his eyes; the shopper was a bright green lizard with yellow eyes. Shadow scowled and looked over the reptile with disdain. How _dare_ he challenge the Ultimate Life Form?

“You don’t know who you’re messing with, asshole. Just turn around and leave me the fuck alone.” 

With that the black hedgehog grabbed a random toothbrush and shoved it into his basket. It was the last thing he needed, and he was glad that he could finally get out of the city and return to Amy. However, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder, and he looked down, disgusted to see a green scaled hand holding him back.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that and then get away with it.” The lizard hissed, his long tongue flicking Shadow in the face. 

Oh, this bastard was asking for it, and Shadow would definitely fulfill his request. But just as he was about to beat the shit out of this stranger, his eye caught on something pink. There were little pink stuffed animals displayed on a pole attached to the shelf on his right. They were fluffy and adorable and Shadow was reminded of the pink fluffy animal waiting for him to get home. He had _promised_ to get there quickly, and if he fought with the asshole then he would be held up and possibly have to go to the police station to fill out some bullshit report, and that could take hours.

Shadow sighed, “It’s your lucky day, pal. Just let this go, okay?” He brushed off the reptile’s hand and used his air shoes to speed down the aisle and to the checkout line. He placed his items on the counter and waited for a purple mouse to ring them up. His foot tapped impatiently as she took her time to pull each item across her scanner and place them in plastic bags. He practically ripped them from the counter when she was finished, and grumbled an annoyed thanks. 

As he was heading out of the store, he felt a hand grip his shoulder a second time and twist him around, connecting a fist to his face. It was unexpected and he was caught off guard. He was weighed down by his bags, so as a result, he fell right on his ass. He turned and viciously glared at a green lizard who was now standing behind him, panting. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the mouse gasp and pick up her phone. _Great. Well, since she’s_ c _alling the police anyway, might as well give this guy what he’s_ so _desperately asking for._


	5. Monophobia and Egg Sandwiches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers!
> 
> Sorry for the longer delay in posting this chapter, it took a bit longer then I would've liked, but it is suuuper long, so I hope you get to enjoy a lot of good writing!
> 
> Thank you all for your support and I really look forward to hearing from you all (please leave a comment :) )
> 
> Happy Reading!

**_CHAPTER 5: Monophobia and Egg Sandwiches_ **

Amy woke up in her bed, feeling terrible. She couldn’t remember much after she’d been given pain killers, but she did remember coming home with Cream. The effects had been wearing off, but they’d still highly influenced her actions. She cringed at a foggy memory of herself, laughing hysterically as her friend helped her bathe. The rabbit’s worried face, as she tried desperately to shield herself from the water Amy splashed in her face, appeared like a nightmare in her mind. _I’ll have to apologize to her tomorrow._

Amy sighed; she had a headache that could kill an elephant. _Maybe I’m dehydrated._ She fumbled out of her comforter and stumbled out of her room to get some water. Thank Chaos her house didn’t have any lights on, or they’d probably burn her retinas to the core. 

Her body still felt very heavy from the medication, so as she slowly stepped forward, she immediately wanted to return to bed and sleep. She could actually feel her bed calling to her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and mustered all her energy to continue forward. 

As she passed the guest room, she peeked inside to see if Shadow had returned. Unfortunately all she saw was darkness and a neatly set bed. She was surprised that the sight made her feel very disappointed – maybe even sad. Looking around the empty house, it suddenly seemed like a huge mansion, and she felt a chill of loneliness. It had been so nice to wake up that morning and eat breakfast with someone. Talk to someone, even if that someone had been a grumpy hedgehog that merely grunted in response to her consistent chattering.

The warmth that had filled her home that morning was gone, and she felt herself yearning for Shadow’s return. _Maybe he won’t come back… he did take me to the hospital and that was all I really needed for him. Is the promise of help to find the Chaos Emeralds really enough to make him stay?_ She frowned, and a darkness that was all too familiar began to sprout from the depths of her stomach. If he didn’t come, then she would be all alone again… left behind... Taking a last look into the empty room, she shook her head to rid herself of those depressing thoughts, and tapped her cheek with her good hand. 

Amy made her way to the kitchen and poured herself some water. Her right arm being broken didn’t hamper her much; she had always been ambidextrous, and had no trouble using her left hand for anything. She smiled to herself; Amy Rose is a strong female. She didn’t back down, and wouldn’t let something like a broken arm get in her way. 

_Just look on the bright side of things, Amy. Your arm has been treated and it will soon heal. Life is only horrible to those who_ make _it horrible._

As the water moved down her throat her pointed ears folded back in pleasure. She could feel the throbbing thirst ebb as she gulped down the clear liquid. The medication must’ve really sucked her dry, and when she was finished with that glass, she poured herself another. She looked over the rim of her cup to glance at the digital display above her stove. 7:13pm. It was late and she felt her stomach gurgle and mumble in hunger.

Opening her fridge, she tried to find something to make for herself. But it was hard to find something to make easily with only one hand. She grabbed some jam and peanut butter, hoping it would be easy enough to make a simple PB&J. However, it was hard to get the jar of the jam open, and she got peanut butter all over the place. She threw the knife onto the counter and glared out the window above her sink.

She was frustrated with herself – she couldn't even make a damn sandwich. She could feel tears threatening to fill her eyes and overflow. Chaos, what had gotten into her these past few days? She had become too sensitive, and she was allowing her emotions to take control too easily. Well, she supposed that was a trait she was known for. Despite her infamy, she had worked hard the past few years to change this about herself. She’d read self–help books, found hobbies beside chasing Sonic to spend her free time on. She’d reached a state of self assurance, and even though she still got blow–up, knock down angry occasionally, she was able to manage her emotional outbursts. So why was she losing control now? 

_Keep it together, Amy. Positive thinking; there may be some ice cream in the freezer._

She sighed and looked into her freezer, pulling out her last chocolate popsicle. Even that gave her trouble – her hand got sticky as she tried to pry the plastic label off. She was using her cast to brace the thing against her body, and she could tell the shirt she was wearing was going to get stained. When she finally succeeded, she heaved a sigh of frustration and made her way to her couch. She pulled a blanket around her and stared out the window, watching as the light slowly went from gold to orange to purple as the sun set. She let out a breath and snuggled deeper into the soft cocoon.

She couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, but she suddenly remembered that Shadow had said something about coming back ‘soon.’ But that had been hours ago, hadn’t it? Maybe she’d imagined it in her foggy drugged mind, but she still felt herself craving his return. Her lids started to feel heavy, and her muzzle broke into a wide yawn. She smacked her lips and fought with the powerful lull of sleep. Her last thought before turning into blissful darkness was, _I hope he gets home soon._

* * *

Shadow the Hedgehog was usually very patient, unlike that faker, Sonic. But now he was feeling quite eager to get his current situation over with. He was sitting in a chair at the police station as a fat dog in uniform listened to the green lizard’s statement for about the 10th time. Shadow rolled his eyes at the lizard as he, _again,_ claimed that Shadow was the one who provoked the fight. The funny thing was, no one believed him. The mouse, whose name turned out to be Sandy, testified that the lizard had thrown the first punch. 

Besides, Shadow had saved the planet a few times with G.U.N. and Sonic, so he was well known in the law enforcement circles. Even if he wasn’t well liked, most of the time he received respect, especially from those in government positions. But of course the police had to get every detail and fill out seemingly endless paperwork. He sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall. 8pm. _Shit, Amy must be wondering where I am._ He cursed himself for not getting her contact information, or at least giving his own to her.

The black hedgehog turned to the police officer in front of him, a female cheetah with glasses, and tapped his finger on the desk to get her attention.

“Can I get the hell out of here? I’ve already given my statement, and we all know this idiot is spouting bullshit. I have someone waiting on me.” 

As he said the words he was surprised at how the statement made him feel. An odd twist had clenched in his chest, and the knowledge that he had someone to return to didn’t make him feel annoyed. However, he chose to ignore it and instead stared at the cheetah intensely. She rolled her eyes and popped some bright pink bubble gum between her lips. She turned to the dog police officer and said, “What do you think, Pat? This guy okay to go home?”

Shadow narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything. The dog sighed, typed a sentence out aggressively and glanced up from his computer over to the glowering Shadow. He looked tired, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought for a moment. Shadow had a quick fast back to the days he had to type up reports at G.U.N. and he did not miss those days in the least.

“Uh, I don’t see why not. Just have him sign all the forms and let him go.” 

“Let him go?! Why the hell does he get to go?! _He’s_ the one that started the whole thing!” The lizard yelled, standing up and raising his arms. Pat sighed again and stood up as well; he was a good foot taller than the angry lizard.

“Sir, I’ll have to ask you to sit down quietly in your seat.”

Shadow, no longer interested in the scene – having gotten what he needed – quickly signed all the papers in front of him and gathered his things. Not waiting to say goodbye, the hedgehog dashed out of the station and went full speed towards Amy’s house. He made it in a couple minutes thanks to some help from his air shoes, and went over to the garden in front of the deck leading to her house. 

He searched the flowers and bushes for a garden gnome. After several minutes of searching, he only saw a bunny, a deer, and what looked like a frog, but no gnome. Finally, he found it standing underneath a rose bush, and cringed at the hideous features it possessed. He lifted it to reveal a spare key, where Amy had said he could find it. Placing the thing down again, he shivered at the demonic smile carved literally into its face. He had no idea why Amy kept something so hideous. It was out of place among the other ‘cute’ garden ornaments she had sprinkled throughout her plants.

He unlocked the door and replaced the key in its hiding place. Gently opening the door, he was careful not to make any loud noises, not wanting to startle Amy. There were no lights turned on in the house, and for a second, he thought that maybe she'd gone to bed. But when he turned on a lamp next to the couch, he jumped slightly when he saw a large lump on the couch. Right away he realized it was Amy, fast asleep with a sticky popsicle stick held tightly in her good hand, chocolate stains around her muzzle. 

He stood, frozen in place, as he gazed down at her, and wondered what she was doing on the couch with a broken arm. As he watched her in curiosity, her face screwed up and she muttered something unintelligible, turning violently onto her back. There was a deep rumbling in the room, and Shadow was surprised to find that the sound was coming from him. He was _chuckling_ at the sight of her mouth slightly ajar and spit starting to spill out over her lips, mixing with the sticky brown chocolate in her fur which quickly turned into syrup. Shadow couldn’t stop his chuckling, and then he heard her grumbled sleepily,

“It’s not funny.” 

He immediately stopped and held his breath as her eyes fluttered open. They narrowed into slits in protest to the light from the lamp, and she sat up. The quills on the left side of her head were a nest of tangles from her sleeping on her good side. 

“Why are you home so late?” She asked drowsily. Her question made Shadow realize she must’ve been waiting up for him, and he sighed, setting his bags down.

“I got held up at the store. At least I actually came back.” Amy narrowed her eyes, obviously not satisfied with that answer. But she shrugged it off and yawned.

“I'm hungry. I tried making something earlier... but it was too hard with only one hand. Could you make me something, please? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a PB&J would be fine.” She expected Shadow to roll his eyes and say no. But to her surprise he simply nodded and gave her a smirk.

“Sure. But you might want to wash up before eating.” 

He chuckled and moved into the kitchen. Amy stared at his broad back; did he just chuckle? The Ultimate Lifeform had never laughed, let alone chuckled, in front of anyone. It was a sound Amy liked, and would want to hear again. 

She got up, feeling a slight pain in her arm, and moved to the bathroom. When she turned on the light, she was horrified at the face staring at her from the mirror. The creature staring at her had swollen cheeks from sleep, crusted chocolate in its peach fur, and a nest of tangles on only one side of the head. It took her a second to realize that it was her, and she gave a tiny scream of embarrassment.

In the kitchen a black hedgehog snickered as he heard the scream, imagining her face as she saw what she looked like. His hands stopped in mid wiping of the peanut butter on the counter. A sudden self awareness washed over Shadow, and it caused him to stop breathing. What in Chaos name was he doing? Laughing, making food for someone else without complaint, and that conversation he’d just had. It’d been so weirdly… _normal._ A casual conversation about getting home late from the store, and that word in of itself felt weird to even think of. _Home._ When was the last time he’d had a home, let alone someone waiting for him? Sure, he had lived with Rouge in the past when they’d worked for G.U.N. but the bat had never waited up for him, and neither had he. But that, to him, was normal. Neither of them cared about the other’s location or what they were doing, and they’d never welcomed each other home.

He heard the sound of a sink being turned on from behind him, and it brought him back to reality. He slammed his fist onto the counter, and stared out the window in frustration. The better question he should be asking is why he was bothered by the situation in the first place. This was temporary, he was just here to find the Chaos Emeralds, and in exchange he would help Amy while she recovered. They were in a _business_ relationship, just like he had been with Rouge. That thought calmed him, and reassured him of his role in this odd arrangement.

He quickly finished up the mess Amy had left behind, a small pit of irritation forming within him at the sight. Why hadn’t she just waited for him to go back, now there was more work for him to do. Once he’d finished with whipping hardened peanut butter from the counters, he looked in the fridge and decided to make something simple. An egg sandwich.

As he slipped a cooked egg onto two slices of prepared bread, he heard the sound of a chair being pulled out behind him. He turned to see that Amy was blushing and fiddling with the bottom of her shirt as she watched him cook. She had changed into a pink sweatshirt that had _princess_ written across the front in rhinestones, and black sweatpants. She’d managed to wash all the brown from her muzzle and comb her short quills back into submission. They just reached a little past her shoulders and were slightly wavy. 

A random realization nagged at the edges of his conscience that she must straighten out her quills each morning. He thought it was odd she would waste her time to flatten out something that looked perfectly acceptable. He froze for the second time on his way towards her, and it was only she cocked her head to the side in confusion at his behavior, that he shook his head and placed the sandwich before her. The plate clattered slightly from the force he used, and he walked past her to the other seat.

“It’s the only thing I know how to make without sticks and fire.” He said gruffly as he sat in the chair and crossed his arms. Amy looked at him and realized he was attempting a joke, so she giggled. Shadow’s eyes widened in surprise, why the hell was she giggling at him, did the sandwich look weird? A glance at the food confirmed it looked fine, he was about to tell her if she didn’t like the food she could just throw it away when her voice bubbled through her laughter,

“Really? Well, if it's on the same level as that fish you fed me, then I am looking forward to it.” She said, smiled and picked up one of the little cut triangles. The words of irritation quickly evaporated with the sight of her smile, and he found he couldn’t look away.

Amy stared at the steaming sandwich, it looked bland with barely any toppings. She could feel his intense stare on her and she gulped slightly. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so she decided that even if it was the worst thing she had ever tasted she would eat it with a grin and say it tasted good. However, after taking a bite, she was pleased to note that she wouldn’t have to fake pleasure. It was actually quite good.

“How’s it taste?” She heard him gruffly ask. Looking up, she could see that he held himself in his usual ‘I don’t give a shit’ demeanor, but she noticed that his eyes betrayed what he was truly thinking and right now they looked slightly nervous. She smirked, deciding that she would tease him a little as payback for him taking amusement out of her appearance earlier. She sucked her cheeks in and narrowed her eyes, making it look like she was forcing the food down. She inwardly pumped a fist in triumph when she saw his face fall slightly.

“It’s… ugh.” She made a gag and saw that anger was now slowly spreading across his expression, but the worst part was that she recognized a small light of hurt in his ruby eyes. _Oh no, I took it too far._ Before she could say anything, though, Shadow growled and took the sandwich away.

“Whatever. I’ll just go get you something else then, _princess._ ” 

Amy hated when people called her that, but this time she knew it was her own fault. She quickly stood up and grabbed his wrist to stop him from throwing out her sandwich.

“Sorry, Shadow! I meant it as a joke, for payback from earlier.” 

He stopped but didn’t look at her.

“Come on. I _am_ sorry, it’s actually _really_ good. Please give it back.” 

Amy released his wrist and moved to take the plate, but, without thinking, he pulled it back. She lost her footing as her momentum pulled her forward and time seemed to slow around her as she got closer and closer to the floor. Instinct made her put the closest arm she had to the floor down, which just so happened to be her right arm. As the bright pink cast connected with the floor, Amy’s vision started to black around the edges from pain. She gasped and her arm crumpled underneath her, but before her head hit the ground, she felt strong arms grip her around her waist and pull her up. Shadow immediately dropped the plate, which shattered and tossed egg and bread all over the kitchen.

“Chaos, Amy! What the hell were you thinking?!” 

She was being held in his arms and she was slightly leaning towards the ground. Her right arm was throbbing against her cast, and to see the fire in his deep ruby eyes made her feel humiliated and frustrated. She used her good hand and pushed him off her. _I’m the injured one here – why the hell is he getting pissed at me?_ She felt hot tears burst from her eyes, and this time she didn’t give a shit or try to stop them.

“What the hell are you yelling at me for?! If you hadn’t yanked that plate away then I wouldn’t have fallen down!”

His quills bristled irately; he'd been worried about her, but when she’d snapped at him, he felt his most familiar emotion start to take control. Anger.

“You were the one who insulted my cooking, which turned out to be a lie! Then you lunged at me – what the hell did you expect?! When you act like a fucking child, you’ll get treated like one!” 

He was pointing a finger at her now, and Amy felt heat surge through her body. She was tired, stressed, in pain, and hungry. Her body shook and she put her arms back and screamed as loudly as she could.

“I landed on my fucking BROKEN arm, you asshole! You didn't even ask if I was alright! I **HATE** you!” 

She turned and ran from her own house and into the jungle surrounding her hut. She wanted to be away from Shadow – he just pissed her off. He always criticized her, and had no patience, getting angry as easily as a snap of her fingers.

 _Yeah, invite him to live with you, Amy. It will be fun, Amy._ She mocked herself in her mind, tears now freely falling from her eyes. 

She stopped for a moment in the deep foliage. Where was she going to go? To Sticks? No. She loved the badger to death, but the odd animal didn't really understand the older hedgehog’s emotions and concerns. Oftentimes, she would just spout random advice on how to survive different kinds of apocalypses. Then she remembered. _Cream. She's staying with Tails for the summer. I guess I could head there._

 _But what if they're in the middle of something?_ The thought of interrupting the young couple in the middle of a date – or worse – an intimate act, made Amy shudder. But it was her only option, and she supposed she could glance inside the house first to make sure that they weren't in a compromising situation. _It isn't spying,_ she reassured herself. _It's just being considerate._

She wasn't as fast as Sonic or Shadow when it came to running, but she could still run just over half their top speed. It was a fact that she took pride in, but didn't like to bring attention to. Mostly because she had only run that fast when chasing Sonic in the past.

 _Sonic._ Wow, it had felt like forever since she had thought about him. She knew it had only been, like, one day since her encounter with the blue hero, but she'd been so preoccupied with her arm, and new roommate, that she hadn't really dwelt much on their recent fight in the jungle. It'd been nasty, and she still felt awkward about how they'd left things. She hoped he wasn't home so as to avoid any awkward interactions with her crush.

When she saw the yellow hut come into view she slowed down until she could reach it. She went to the living room window – located right next to the door – and peeked inside. It was open, and she could hear sounds coming from inside.

Looking into the room, her heart sank when she caught sight of long blue quills and a cocky smile. And her heart dropped even further when she saw who was sitting next to him on the couch. Sonic had his arms around the bitch, Perci, and was smiling as he fed her some popcorn. 

They were watching a movie, and although she couldn't see the television, she knew what it was from the flashing images of humans reflecting on the window. It was _Titanic._ One of _her_ movies that she’d brought back from Earth. She hadn't even watched it yet – she'd been saving it for a possible date night with the very hedgehog who now sat in someone else's arms. Why did he have it? 

Oh, right… she had lent it to Tails so that he could watch it with Cream. Sonic must have taken it and decided to watch it with _her._ The scene in front of her was causing her heart to painfully squeeze. She remembered all those times she’d been turned down or ignored by Sonic when she asked him to watch a movie with her. 

It honestly drove her crazy, because she knew Sonic wasn't a cruel person – he was just simply blind when Amy was involved. In fact, Sonic had the biggest and kindest heart of anyone she knew, it was just one of the many reasons that she loved him. However, she could never understand why he never understood her. Never returned her feelings, and never looked in her direction. It was childish – she knew that. She couldn’t _force_ him to love her back, but that didn’t do anything to alleviate the feeling of betrayal that snaked its way from her heart to the tips of her fingers. 

“Sonic?” A voice cut into her thoughts, but her body didn’t move, even as the voice got closer, “Cream and I are going to head out now to star–watch. Try not to break anything or have sex on the couch. I have to sit there, you know.” Tails finished in an exasperated voice. Perci giggled and Sonic smirked, pulling the lavender bandicoot closer to him. He waved off Tails, who was by the door now leading Cream outside.

Tails sighed and opened the door to reveal a pink hedgehog frozen in place. The fox jumped a little, not expecting to see her there. Amy looked pretty terrible – leaves and twigs were sticking out of her messy quills and her eyes were red from tears only recently dried.

“Amy?” Tails asked tentatively. 

She wasn't looking at him, though; she was looking at Sonic, who hadn't noticed the scene unfolding at his front door. The blue hero only seemed to pay attention to the bandicoot sitting next to him. He was smiling, and she was cuddling, and Amy could feel her stomach turning to stone, her very heart becoming ice. The couple giggled at a scene showing on the television.

“That's my movie.” She stated in a daze, seemingly oblivious to Tails.

“Uh…” Tails looked behind him and mentally face palmed. Damn it, he _knew_ he shouldn't have let Sonic take that movie! He sort of figured that Amy had planned to watch it with the azure male.

“I’m sorry, Amy. But are you okay? You look like you've been crying.”

“Miss Amy?” Cream added, her soft brown eyes worried. 

“That was something I was waiting to use... for a special date.” Amy whispered, deaf to her concerned friends.

Sonic's head looked over lazily as he realized Tails hadn't left yet, but when his green eyes met jade, he froze. Amy stared at him, hurt naked on her face. His emerald eyes slowly widened, and his mouth opened and shut in a worthless attempt to say something.

Perci, noticing that Sonic’s attention was elsewhere, paused the movie and rolled her blue eyes in Amy’s direction. The lavender female’s face at first took on a look of shock, and then it melted into one of pity. An expression that seemed to scream, _‘oh, that poor dear. Obsessed with someone who doesn’t love her.’_

Amy looked at the couple, staring open–mouthed at her, and she became humiliated. She felt hot tears start to burn at the corners of her eyes, and her bottom lip threatened to shake uncontrollably. However, she set her jaw straight and firm, lifting her head high, and whipped around quickly. Gathering what dignity she had left, she ran into the jungle for the second time that night.

* * *

Tails watched as his pink friend disappeared into the dark treeline. _Dammit._

“Tails… what was Amy doing here?”

The fox turned to see a concerned blue hedgehog now standing behind him, his date leaning on the side of the couch with her head on folded arms as she watched the scene with some interest.

“Uh, I don’t know. She’s supposed to be at home, resting.” 

Sonic narrowed his eyes with concern. He moved over to the door, but a moan was heard from behind him.

“Where are you going, babe? The movie isn’t over.” 

Sonic looked over to see his girlfriend pouting and twirling a finger in a strand of her long hair. She fluttered her eyelids at him, and stuck out her bottom lip.

“Sorry, baby. I’ll just be gone for a few.” 

She moaned in response and puckered her lips, “But you promised you’d watch this with me.” 

Sonic sighed; he was worried about Amy, but his carnal instincts were urging him to join his mate and have some fun. 

Tails could see Sonic having an internal battle of wills. He knew the hero was concerned about Amy, he had never known Sonic to ever turn a blind eye to a friend in need, but he was also wise enough to realize that Sonic didn’t like to get involved with ‘Amy Rose Drama.’ It was a problem that had plagued the blue hedgehog since the first time Amy had hugged him. Tails wanted him to make the right choice, but not for the wrong reasons. If Sonic felt forced into going after Amy, then that could cause even more issues; Sonic and Amy’s fights could go on for a long time and almost always ended in violence. This could only be avoided if Sonic truly wanted to make things right with Amy, so Tails decided to test him.

“Sonic, don’t worry. Just stay here. Cream and I were going out anyway, so we’ll see what’s up with Amy.” 

Sonic gave Tails a look and opened his mouth like he was about to protest, when there was another annoying moan behind him. The sound seemed to shift the balance into Perci’s favor, and he shrugged. He turned and went back to the couch, feeling satisfied that someone else was taking charge of the crazy pink hedgehog.

Tails glared at his best friend’s back, disgusted by his actions, and guided Cream out the door. He hated the way that Sonic treated everyone when Perci was around. He became a male with only one thing on his mind: hormones. 

Sonic was his brother, the person he was closest to in the world, but Amy was his sister. She was always there for him, lending a shoulder when he needed to cry, never making him feel like a baby for showing emotions. Tails found that he really despised the way Sonic hurt Amy; the fox could always see it shining in her eyes. Even when she smiled, like nothing was wrong. What made it worse was the fact that Sonic didn’t even seem to notice.

“Damn that hedgehog.” He muttered, kicking a pole that held the deck together.

“Tails, why didn’t you let Mister Sonic help?” Cream asked. The little rabbit was upset and worried for her best friend and thought they could use all the help they could get. She didn’t see why they would deny the hero’s help, especially when he was the fastest of the group. Tails sighed and looked at his girlfriend.

“Sorry, Cream. I just don’t think it’s a good idea after what she witnessed.” 

Cream looked into the house again to see the couple on the couch, they had started the movie again and were currently kissing. She shuddered and turned back to her own boyfriend.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

She walked down the steps and flipped open the watch that Tails had made for her. He had made customized ones for all his friends; it was a portable communicator that would be easier to carry around than his cylinder digital pads. He had put in similar characteristics to the cell phones he had seen on Earth. In fact, he’d actually sold the design here on Mobius for quite the pretty penny.

“I am going to try and reach Miss Amy.” The little rabbit announced, pressing the icon for her best friend on the tiny screen. 

The screen showed a happy Amy laughing, and text that said, _‘Calling Amy Rose.’_ But it went to voicemail after a few rings. Cream sighed and looked at her boyfriend. Tails shook his head in defeat. 

“Guess we just have to look ourse –” He was cut off as her little watch brightened and a cheerful violin started playing a bright tune. Tails’ attention snapped to the screen, expecting to see Amy’s smile, but instead he was met with an all–too–familiar dark scowl. The ring tone definitely did not match the contact.

“Why do you have Shadow’s contact information?” Tails asked, shocked. Cream blushed and her long ears drooped nervously. 

“Well... since he _is_ going to be staying with Miss Amy a while, I thought his number might come in handy – so we exchanged contacts.” 

Tails narrowed his eyes, unsure of how to respond to his girlfriend getting another guy's number, even if he was a hedgehog with a bad attitude.

“Mister Shadow! What’s going on?” Cream answered the watch quickly, and brought the watch over to Tails so that he could see, too. 

Shadow’s face was being displayed live on the tiny screen – however, he was obviously running, and his store–bought watch was having trouble keeping signal due to the speed. Tails made a mental note to copy Sonic’s design and give it to Shadow later so that it would be able to accommodate his high speeds.

Have...uys... Amy?” He asked, his voice sounding worried but broken from bad connection.

“Stop moving for a second – you're messing with the signal,” Tails replied, annoyed. Shadow stopped abruptly and repeated his question in an impatient growl.

“Have you guys seen Amy? We had a little… uh, _disagreement,_ earlier, and she ran out.” 

Tails rolled his eyes. These three hedgehogs were going to be the death of him.

“Yes, she was here…” He paused, unsure of whether or not to elaborate.

“Well?” The hedgehog pressed on gruffly.

Tails looked at the sky; it was a moonless night, and very dark. Shadow would need to know just how upset and unapproachable the pink hedgehog would be so that he would be able to handle her appropriately.

“Well, there’s a slight problem,” Tails said nervously; the ebony hedgehog narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?” 

“Uh, Well... Amy sorta saw Sonic and his girlfriend, being all... _lovey–dovey…_ To make matters worse, they were watching a movie she had been holding off viewing, so that she could watch it with him.” 

Ruby eyes closed, and Shadow growled. _Perfect_ , this was just what he needed – more drama surrounding Amy and the blue faker. Why the hell did those two always seem to get on his last nerve? 

“Great. She's probably fucking _pissed_ right now, meaning she could very well be hammer friendly.” 

Shadow pinched the top of his muzzle in an attempt to stop the pounding that had started in his head. Oh, this was turning into the best night he’d ever had. _Not._

“And what is that blue bastard doing now? I assume he’s aware of the situation.” 

Tails blushed and looked away, ashamed of his best friend. He knew that Shadow would get instantly angry, and he hated being the messenger. Sonic and Shadow never really got along on the best of days; Sonic always viewed Shadow as a possible enemy, because of Eggman and G.U.N., and Shadow always thought of Sonic as a petulant child, blind with adventure.

“He's making out with Perci on the couch,” The fox shuddered, swearing he would never sit on that couch again.

“Fucking wonderful – bloody good hero _he_ turned out to be,” Shadow snapped bitterly.

“Ok, here's the deal. I am going to search for her, and you two can continue your night as normal.”

“Wait, we want to help!” Cream protested.

“Sorry dear, but _I’m_ sorta the one to blame for all this. And I don't think it's very safe to be wandering around at this time, anyway. I’ll call when I find her.” 

Tails looked at the hedgehog; in the past the fox would be hesitant to trust the dark hero. But he had seen a slightly different side of him these past days when he dealt with Amy. And frankly Tails was tired of being the one to always clean up after these crazy hedgehogs. If he wanted to take a go at it, Shadow was free to knock himself out. Which sometimes literally happened, due to a certain hammer–crazy hedgehog.

“Okay,” Tails shushed Cream as she went to argue, “I think that would be for the best. Please get her home safe.” 

Shadow’s tiny head nodded and the screen went dark. Cream glared at her boyfriend and angrily hit him on the arm. Her long ears were pulled back in frustration, and her soft brown eyes had hardened into fiery pools of fury.

“Why did you say that? Miss Amy is obviously hurting and upset! She needs her friends right now.” 

Tails looked at his love and smiled. He found her loyalty and caring towards her friends very attractive and he pulled the rabbit into a reluctant hug. She squirmed against him, refusing to relax into his hold. Tails chuckled a little and gently tightened the hug.

“Cream, calm down. Shadow will find her quickly; he _is_ as fast as Sonic, remember?” 

She grumbled into his chest, still not happy with the answer. But Tails could feel her start to relax into his chest, and her heart rate slowed.

“Why don't we go inside and make some cookies to bring them tomorrow? Then we can see how Amy is doing after she’s calmed down.” 

He felt his girlfriend completely release all of her tension; she had a soft spot for baking and Tails knew she wanted to feel helpful. Giving her something that would ‘help’ Amy, would put her worry at ease, and give her something to keep her mind preoccupied with.

“You really think he'll find her okay? I’m really worried about her – I’ve never seen her look so… broken.” She admitted quietly into his chest. 

He felt a sudden chill begin to root in his chest as he realized that what Cream said was true. Amy had looked as though she was witnessing a death, and her eyes... He had briefly seen them go completely empty, devoid of life. 

Clearing his throat, he looked up to the sky and sighed. Amy would be fine, she always was. Chuckling at an image of her smashing Sonic to a pulp cheered him up, he guided his girlfriend back up the steps and into his home. Shooting up a quick prayer to Chaos that his other friends were decent, he opened the door.

“It’s Shadow. If there is one thing we can count on, it’s that he always completes his missions.”

* * *

Amy Rose was sitting on her favorite cliff that was located right under Angel Island. She looked up at the floating mass of Mobius, wishing she had the power to fly so that she could go see Rouge and Knuckles. She would have called them, but she’d left all her communicators at home in her rush to escape Shadow. 

After the Master Emerald had healed from its trip in space, Angel Island had changed position in the world to hover above this tropical piece of country. Amy had moved to Bygone Island at the echidna’s suggestion, when he’d written to her about all the lost ruins to be found in the expanse of foliage. 

Amy smiled at the thought of Knuckles. He was the only one she could ever _really_ talk to; he was like a big brother to her. Him, and Rouge, of course. They were the closest thing she had to family, and she cherished them both because of it.

She had been so happy a few years ago when the two had finally become official. She laughed at the memory of being caught in between them as they danced around each other, refusing to give any leverage to the other. It had been Amy’s constant pestering and devious planning that had finally gotten the two to admit their feelings for each other. But that was a whole nother story.

She sighed, knowing that somewhere, up there, they were probably cuddling or arguing, but at least they had each other. The warmth of companionship caused Amy to think back to a couple days ago when she’d almost died. 

Chaos, that had only been about _three days_ ago. It seemed like years had passed since then, and she was shocked at how much had happened – how much had _changed_ in that brief amount of time. The thought brought up an emotion that always seemed to choke her; the feeling of being alone. 

Solitude, or rather the fear of, was a constant battle that she fought with herself. It had made its home in her heart ever since her parents had been murdered right in front of her eyes. Even though she had been six years old, she could still see the evil glint of metal as a robotic blue hedgehog had ripped through her parents, blood and screams filling the night air. She shuddered, glad that the Evil Doctor, Eggman’s father, who had orchestrated the event was long dead. 

However, it had traumatized her, and now her greatest fear was of being alone. Maybe that's why she’d attached herself to Sonic. She had imprinted on him like a chick after he’d saved her from the Evil Doctor’s hands. If he hadn’t, she would’ve been turned into a power source for his evil robots. 

He was the first person to make her feel safe, and she had thought it was love, destiny, fated by the stars. But she had realized years ago, even though she’d denied it until faced with death, that Sonic was just a hero. That his ‘duty’ had been his _only_ motivation in saving her. 

_She_ was the one to selfishly hold onto an unwilling person, desperately searching for companionship and love. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been clear with her – he’d told her straight up a couple of times, even though she’d never listened. 

However, had it really all been one–sided? Sonic had shown signs of returning her feelings, like that time when he had returned from Earth and went straight to _her_ house first. Giving her a rose and promising to never leave her. And what about all those times he had led her on? Those dates they’d attempted, even though something had always gone wrong. And wasn’t her name the one he’d always screamed first, or the loudest, when in danger? She wasn’t the only one at fault.

She sighed again, looking up at the stars.

“It’s too late now, anyway, even if that were true,” She said aloud.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She heard from behind her.

She screamed and snapped her hammer into existence. She swung it blindly, but only having one arm and her body twisted, she missed whatever had made the noise and connected with ground. Dirt flew into the air and into her eyes, but she heard a startled grunt that sounded familiar. When the dirt settled, she could see a very annoyed black and red–striped hedgehog, standing with his arms crossed and his foot tapping. 

Seeing Shadow made Amy remember all of the things that had happened tonight, and she turned around, snubbing him. She couldn’t exactly run away again as she was sitting on a cliff edge, and he was standing between her and freedom. So she chose the next best thing – the cold shoulder.

She could hear him sigh from behind her, but she refused to turn around.

“Come on, Rose. Stop being a brat.” Shadow growled, annoyed at her behavior. But she remained silent. 

“Chaos! You’re impossible! Do you realize how worried everyone is?! You ran off, leaving us to wonder if you were okay.” 

She was silent again, but she started to tremble. _Shit, she’s gonna cry._ Shadow narrowed his eyes. Finally not able to take her drama any longer, he said exactly what was on his mind.

“Look, if this is about that asshole, just forget about him, okay? He didn’t even come after you.” 

He saw her body suddenly stiffen at the mention of Sonic. _Oh, fuck! Why did I say that?_ He felt cold sweat form on the edge of his forehead. Just why _had_ he told her? It was a statement that would only prove to make the situation worse, and was a childish attempt to make her think poorly of Sonic. But why did he want her to think poorly of him? He would’ve pondered this confusing predicament more, if her voice had come forth almost in a whisper,

“Of course not – he wouldn’t ever come after me.” 

Amy stood straight, looking down the cliff, her toes curling on the sharp edge of its rocks. That one sentence rang inside her, and something broke. She could feel it shattering; her near–death experience had started the crack, and now it had finally spread and tore her heart to pieces. 

Suddenly the night noises of the jungle seemed to grow mute, and the ground below slowly rushed towards her as she stood still. The trees below rippled in a summer breeze, and the rustling of leaves were louder than anything else, singing a song of beckoning. How would it feel to fall, weightless, free? Would it hurt when she hit the ground? The wind would sweep up through her fur, gently guiding her towards the embrace of the ground. Would anyone care or even notice? _If she died, would Sonic be sad?_ These questions started tempting her broken heart. Her logic and mind were silent. 

She leaned backwards, and looked over her shoulder at the hedgehog behind her. Shadow felt a chill down his spine; she was making that face again. The one she’d made in the jungle after Sonic had left her. Her eyes empty and void, her lips lax and locked in a neutral line. Shadow had never seen such a look before, and it scared him like nothing else ever had.

“Rose?” No response. “Amy?” 

Suddenly her mouth broke into a gruesome smile.

“Oh, Shadow. I am so very alone.” 

She looked out into the night air, her arms spread wide, her pink sweatshirt and cast seeming to float in the air as her pants blended into the dark night. She took a huge breath of night air, opening her clouded eyes to the starry sky.

“So pretty.” She breathed, gesturing upwards to the stars, teetering at the edge. 

She looked over at Shadow again. “I feel so weak, you know. I’m pathetic. An unlucky girl, cursed to never find company, to always chase an endless, unreal dream. I came to this realization, as you know, when I almost died. But, like with Sonic, I tried to deny it.” 

She chuckled, moving a foot out, as though testing the waters. Her quills whipped around in a sudden breeze, and her body swayed side to side. 

Shadow flinched forward, not wanting to startle her in case she fell. His heart was beating fast, and it was painful to see all the hurt the pink girl was going through. _She’s been holding it in all these years – it must’ve finally gotten her to a breaking point._

“You know, Shadow, I’m thinking it might be nice to join them,” She said again, looking to the stars. 

“My Mom told me that if she ever left this world, she would be in the stars. Watching me. Maybe there – up there, with her – I wouldn’t be alone anymore.” 

Shadow gulped. “Amy, be careful, you’re really close to falling,” He said, moving agonizingly slowly towards her.

She laughed, and it sounded so close to her normal bell melody, that Shadow was almost fooled into thinking she was back. But her eyes were the same, clear jade pools, void of emotion. 

“Oh, Shadow, I guess you might think I'm crazy. Honestly, if I were you I would be thinking the same. But ponder this for a moment – what else do I have?” 

Shadow cursed himself; he didn’t know how to handle these situations. Plus, he still didn’t know this girl very well. What he did know, however, was that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. He had made a promise. Wait, that was it!

“Amy!” He said a little too eagerly. Startled, she jumped, and as she landed back on the ground her foot slipped and lost it’s hold. Her face turned to that of shock, and Shadow watched in horror as the tips of her quills disappeared over the edge. 

Without even hesitating, Shadow jumped over the side and made his body like an arrow so that he could get to her faster. She was crying in fear, and her eyes had returned to normal, now reflecting regret and terror in their bright green depths. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and she watched as Shadow got closer to her. When he reached her, he grabbed her waist and closed his eyes. 

Thank Chaos he was under the Master Emerald. Even though it was far, he could still feel its power and he tapped into it, begging it to lend him strength. The Master Emerald housed two souls, so it was hard to control and seemed to only lend a hand if it felt like the asker was worthy. Apparently, he was, because suddenly he felt the comfortable surge of power through his veins. 

He opened his eyes and screamed, “Chaos Control!”

The couple immediately stopped in the air mid–fall; time had slowed around them. They started to gently float down towards the bottom of the ravine, but they still had quite a ways to go. 

Shadow felt her hand grip his long quills behind his head. Her arms were around him, and her face was buried in his shoulder. She was shaking, and started whispering, “Sorry, I’m _so_ sorry. I don’t want to die.” She repeated this until Shadow brought his hand up behind her; she stiffened and he whacked her on the back of her head.

She looked up at him with angry green eyes. “OW! What the hell, Shadow?!” She was about to continue when he growled.

“Don’t. You. _EVER._ Do. Something. Like that. Again.” He looked at her, and all her fury melted away. 

As always, his eyes portrayed his true emotions, and what she saw resonating in his crimson irises stopped her heart for a beat. She could see horror, fear, worry, and strangely, sadness. 

Amy stared into them, fascinated. She had never thought eyes could hold so much emotion, and she found them to be frighteningly beautiful. Time was moving slowly, and the world was silent and seemed at peace. She wanted to stare into those ruby pools forever, but her feet found solid ground. Time returned to normal, and the sounds of the active nightlife of the jungle resumed. Even though they were on the ground, they still held each other, panting. 

Amy looked up through his tuft of white fur and mumbled, “Thank you. I promise to never do that again.” 

Shadow sighed and put his forehead on her left shoulder. He didn't know whether he would regret what he was about to say or not, but he had almost lost her. She'd almost slipped through his fingers, and he realized he dreaded that idea more so than the words he was about to say. If they could save her, then it would be worth it. He would worry about her sudden importance in his mind later, so for now he opened his mouth,

“Amy, I am only going to say this once, so listen and remember this well.” 

She stiffened at the serious yet gentle tone he was using. She put her casted hand into his sharp, but relaxed quills. She felt fragile in his arms, a glass statue with spider cracks threatening to shatter her. 

“I, too, feel alone. All the time, actually. I have never admitted this out loud, and I will never say it again, but I was actually really happy when you opened your home to me.” 

Amy widened her eyes – _happy?! He said he was happy! Shadow the Hedgehog said he was happy to be in my home._

He chuckled, his huge quills shaking in her field of vision.

“I can kind of imagine what you must be thinking. Me, the so–called Ultimate Lifeform, is happy to not be alone.” 

He turned his face into the dip of her neck, smelling her sweet strawberry scent. 

“But it’s true.” His lips tickled her neck, and she shivered, her ears flattening against her head; suddenly she felt very warm.

“What I guess I’m trying to say, Amy Rose,” He straightened and held her out in front of him, his gloved hands on her shoulders, “I’m saying… you’re not alone. Not anymore. You probably don’t remember, but I promised you earlier today that I would never leave you. And I _never_ break my promises.” 

Her eyes widened as snippets of earlier that day started to flash before her eyes. They were foggy and distorted, but she could clearly hear his voice saying those exact words to her. Again, however, she thought of Sonic. Why couldn't it have been him? Why couldn't he be the one standing before her, saying the only thing she'd ever wanted to hear? 

_Look, you won't be alone for long. I’m living with you now, remember?_

_You're not alone._

She felt tears form in her eyes, and she closed them quickly, not wanting Shadow to see any more of her ugly side. The part of her that even she despised.

“It’s okay. Let it out, but know this is the last time I will tolerate you crying over that asshole.” He firmly stated, as though reading her mind. 

She looked up at him, but he wasn’t scowling, he wasn’t angry. He was sincere, and gentle, his blood red eyes soft and patient. His compliance in allowing her to release her pent up emotions uncorked a plug she'd jammed into her heart years ago. Amy fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. 

“Sonic. Sonic. Sonic. I loved you.” She blubbered over and over. Letting her pain and hurt flow in a salty stream, to disappear into the night air. 

It hurt to say goodbye to her love, but she knew it had to be done. He was moving on with someone else, and she couldn't wait any longer. It was tearing her apart, and she had lost herself in the chase. He was her unattainable dream, and she needed to wake up to reality. It was over, and she had to walk on.

Once she’d quieted to hiccups and her tears were drying up she looked up at Shadow, who was staring intently at her. He hadn't moved an inch, not to leave and not to comfort her. He'd just stood beside her, becoming her support, her rock, a silent protector.

“Thank you, Shadow. I think I can finally move past this now. I only wish it didn't take near death experiences to get through to my thick skull.” She chuckled, and Shadow gave a small smirk. 

“And you know, Shadow, you don’t have to be alone anymore, either; you have me now.” She said, giving him a beautiful smile, through her tear lined face.

For the first time in his life, Shadow felt an odd heat prickle at his cheeks and he turned away gruffly. She had hit him where it counted, and a barrier in his heart was smashed to the ground by a Piko–Piko wielding hedgehog. 

He grunted, but Amy knew he was happy. He had just told her so only a couple minutes ago. He walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. They would both be fine. Two broken pieces finding a way to fit together and feel whole.

“Let’s go home.”


End file.
